BACKGROUND

Aggression is a major challenge in psychiatric settings, particularly among service users with schizophrenia. Psychiatric nurses are at the frontline of aggression prevention thus making their strategies vital for safe, high-quality care.

This study examined the strategies used by psychiatric nurses in preventing aggression among adult schizophrenia service users at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) and also analyzed the relationship between nurses' demographic profiles and their prevention strategies.

A quantitative, descriptive-correlational, comparative design was employed. A total of 18 head nurses and 87 staff nurses were selected through purposive sampling. Data was collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation tests to determine associations between nurse profiles and aggression prevention strategies. Ethical approval was also obtained prior to data collection.

Most head nurses were female (77.78%), aged 30–39 years (44.44%), and held a BSN degree (77.78%). Staff nurses were also predominantly female (57.47%), aged 30–39 (67.82%), and BSN graduates (96.55%). Both groups frequently applied risk assessment, de-escalation, therapeutic communication, and medication administration. Significant relationships were found between age, sex, education, and length of service, and nurses' ability to prevent aggression. No significant differences were found between head nurses and staff nurses in their self-assessed ability to prevent aggression.

Psychiatric nurses' age, education, and experience significantly influence aggression prevention strategies. Strengthening training in risk assessment, de-escalation, therapeutic communication, and medication administration is essential for enhancing nurse competency and ensuring safer mental health care.

Females increase aggression for mating opportunities and for acquiring reproductive resources. Although the close relationship between female aggression and mating status is widely appreciated, whether and how female aggression is regulated by mating-related cues remains poorly understood. Here we report an interesting observation that Drosophila virgin females initiate high-frequency attacks toward mated females. We identify 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), a male-derived pheromone transferred to females during mating, which promotes virgin female aggression. We subsequently reveal a cVA-responsive neural circuit consisting of four orders of neurons, including Or67d, DA1, aSP-g, and pC1 neurons, that mediate cVA-induced virgin female aggression. We also determine that aSP-g neurons release acetylcholine (ACh) to excite pC1 neurons via the nicotinic ACh receptor nAChRα7. Together, beyond revealing cVA as a mating-related inducer of virgin female aggression, our results identify a neural circuit linking the chemosensory perception of mating-related cues to aggressive behavior in Drosophila females.
Animals ; Male ; Female ; Drosophila/physiology* ; Drosophila Proteins/physiology* ; Cues ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology* ; Aggression/physiology* ; Drosophila melanogaster/physiology*

Nervous systems must not only generate specific adaptive behaviors, such as reproduction, aggression, feeding, and sleep, but also select a single behavior for execution at any given time, depending on both internal states and external environmental conditions. Despite their tremendous biological importance, the neural mechanisms of action selection remain poorly understood. In the past decade, studies in the model animal Drosophila melanogaster have demonstrated valuable neural mechanisms underlying action selection of innate behaviors. In this review, we summarize circuit mechanisms with a particular focus on a small number of sexually dimorphic neurons in controlling action selection among sex, fight, feeding, and sleep behaviors in both sexes of flies. We also discuss potentially conserved circuit configurations and neuromodulation of action selection in both the fly and mouse models, aiming to provide insights into action selection and the sexually dimorphic prioritization of innate behaviors.
Animals ; Mice ; Male ; Female ; Drosophila melanogaster/physiology* ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology* ; Instinct ; Neurons/physiology* ; Aggression/physiology*

How to quickly predict an individual's behavioral choices is an important issue in the field of human behavior research. Using noninvasive electroencephalography, we aimed to identify neural markers in the prior outcome-evaluation stage and the current option-assessment stage of the chicken game that predict an individual's behavioral choices in the subsequent decision-output stage. Hierarchical linear modeling-based brain-behavior association analyses revealed that midfrontal theta oscillation in the prior outcome-evaluation stage positively predicted subsequent aggressive choices; also, beta oscillation in the current option-assessment stage positively predicted subsequent cooperative choices. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence for the three-stage theory of decision-making and strengthen the feasibility of predicting an individual's behavioral choices using neural oscillations.
Aggression/physiology* ; Brain ; Electroencephalography ; Interpersonal Relations

Schizophrenia is a common disease characterized by thinking obstructions and accompanied by cognitive, emotional and behavioral disorders. Under the control of psychiatric symptoms, patients with schizophrenia may self-injure or impulsively wound others, resulting in public risk and increase in the burden of family and society. In recent years, many studies have shown that the violent behavior of patients with schizophrenia is related to genetic factors. This article reviews the research progress on the relationship between genetic polymorphism and violent behavior of patients with schizophrenia, analyzes the possible mechanism of the correlation between the two, puts forward the limitations of current research and the directions of future research, and provides scientific basis for risk assessment and prevention of violent behavior of patients with schizophrenia.
Aggression ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Risk Assessment ; Schizophrenia/genetics* ; Schizophrenic Psychology ; Violence

Ketamine has long been used as an anesthetic agent. However, ketamine use is associated with numerous side effects, including flashbacks, amnesia, delirium, and aggressive or violent behavior. Ketamine has also been abused as a cocktail with ecstasy, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Several studies have investigated therapeutic applications of ketamine, demonstrating its antidepressant and anxiolytic effects in both humans and rodents. We recently reported that neonatal maternal separation causes enhanced anxiety- and aggressive-like behaviors in adolescent. In the present study, we evaluated how acute and chronic ketamine administration affected the behavioral consequences of neonatal maternal separation in adolescent mice. Litters were separated from dams for 4 hours per day for 19 days beginning after weaning. Upon reaching adolescence (post-natal day 35–49), mice were acutely (single injection) or chronically (7 daily injections) treated with a sub-anesthetic dose (15 mg/kg) of ketamine. At least 1 h after administration of ketamine, mice were subjected to open-field, elevated-plus maze, and resident-intruder tests. We found that acute ketamine treatment reduced locomotor activity. In contrast, chronic ketamine treatment decreased anxiety, as evidenced by increased time spent on open arms in the elevated-plus maze, and remarkably reduced the number and duration of attacks. In conclusion, the present study suggests that ketamine has potential for the treatment of anxiety and aggressive or violent behaviors.
Adolescent* ; Aggression ; Amnesia ; Animals ; Anti-Anxiety Agents ; Anxiety ; Arm ; Cocaine ; Delirium ; Humans ; Ketamine* ; Methamphetamine ; Mice* ; Motor Activity ; Rodentia ; Weaning

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to construct a structural model that explains the factors affecting aggression among elementary school students and to verify their suitability.METHODS: The study period was from June to August 2018. The study subjects were fifth- and sixth- graders at an elementary school. In total, 291 surveys were collected, of which 259 were analyzed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24.0 and AMOS version 24.0.RESULTS: The fit of the final model was acceptable (χ2=160.08 [p<.001], GFI=.921, AGFI=.869, CFI=.919, SRMR=.057, and RMSEA=.086). Thus, eight of the 10 hypotheses were shown to be statistically significant.CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that positive and open parenting behaviors and training children to engage in self-control are needed to reduce their aggression. In addition, considerable attention and education are required in the home, school, and society so that children can learn to properly recognize and express their emotions and establish suitable beliefs regarding aggressive behavior.
Aggression ; Child ; Education ; Humans ; Models, Structural ; Parenting ; Parents ; Self-Control

OBJECTIVES: Misperception of weight status is a risk factor that affects psychological health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between weight misperception patterns and psychological distress among Iranian children and adolescents. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional nationwide study where data was collected from 14,440 students, aged 7–18 years who participated in the national school-based surveillance program (CASPIAN-V). The students’ weight perception and psychological distress were assessed by validated questionnaires. Weight misperception was classified as misperception of being either underweight or overweight with respect to actual weight. RESULTS: The rate of weight misperception in all study participants was 59.1%. In groups with a perception of being underweight or overweight, the risks of worthlessness, being worried, experiencing aggression, insomnia, or depression, were significantly higher than groups with an accurate weight perception (p < 0.05). The risk of anxiety in girls of normal weight who perceived themselves as underweight, decreased by 57% compared to girls with an accurate weight perception (OR: 0.43; 95% CI, 0.28–0.66). CONCLUSION: Weight misperception is highly prevalent among Iranian children and adolescents and is associated with their psychological health status. Appropriate education intervention needs to be developed to improve the children and adolescents’ perception of their body weight status.
Adolescent ; Aggression ; Anxiety ; Body Image ; Body Weight ; Child ; Depression ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Overweight ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Thinness ; Weight Perception

“Comfort women” are survivors of sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, who endured extensive trauma including massive rape and physical torture. While previous studies have been focused on the trauma of the survivors themselves, the effects of the trauma on the offspring has never been evaluated before. In this article, we reviewed the first study on the offspring of former “comfort women” and aimed to detect the evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma. In-depth psychiatric interviews and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis I Disorders were conducted with six offspring of former “comfort women.” Among the six participants, five suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder including major depressive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, insomnia disorder, somatic symptom disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Participants showed similar shame and hyperarousal symptoms as their mothers regarding stimuli related to the “comfort woman” issue. Increased irritability, problems with aggression control, negative worldview, and low self-esteem were evident in the children of mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder. Finding evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma in offspring of “comfort women” is important. Future studies should include more samples and adopt a more objective method.
Adjustment Disorders ; Aggression ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Humans ; Methods ; Military Personnel ; Mothers ; Panic Disorder ; Rape ; Shame ; Slavery ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic ; Survivors ; Torture ; World War II

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between depression and aggression in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: This study used Korean version of Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). SPSS/WIN 23.0 statistical program was used. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Scheffé-test to know the differences in depression and aggression according to the general characteristics. The correlation between depression and aggression was analyzed by Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect of depression on aggression. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant effect on verbal and physical aggression according to sub-factors of depression. However. aggressive attitude due to emotional depression was statistically significant (β=.23, p=.031). CONCLUSION: If nurses recognize the psychological and emotional problems as well as the physical symptoms of patients with coronary artery disease and train themselves in a systematic manner, they will be able to return to their normal daily lives.
Aggression ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Depression ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Personality Assessment