Identifying risk factors to predict violent behaviour in community patients with severe mental disorders: A retrospective study of 5277 patients in China

Patients with Severe Mental Disorders (SMD) have a higher risk of violent behaviour than the general population. The study aimed to investigate the predictive factors for the occurrence of violent behaviour in community SMD patients. The cases and follow-up data were collected from SMD patient Information Management system in Jiangning District, Jiangsu Province. The incidence of violent behaviours was described and analyzed. Logistic regression model was used to examine the influencing factors for violent behaviours in those patients. Among 5277 community patients with SMD in Jiangning District, 42.4% (2236/5277) had violent behaviours. The stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that the disease-related factors (including disease type, disease course, times of hospitalization, medication adherence, past violent behaviours), the demographic factors (age, male sex, educational level, economic and social living status), and the policy-related factors (like free treatment, annual physical check, disability certificate, family physician services, and community interviews) were significantly related to the violent behaviours in community SMD patients. After gender stratification, we found that male patients with unmarried status and with a longer course of disease were more likely to violent. However, we found that female patients with lower economic status and educational experience were more likely to violent. Our results suggest that community SMD patients had a high incidence of violent behaviour. The findings may provide valuable information for policymakers and mental health professionals worldwide taking a number of measures to reduce the incidence of violence in community SMD patients and to better maintain social security.