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Epidemiology

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Handbook of Aggressive and Destructive Behavior in Psychiatric Patients

Abstract

Psychiatric epidemiology is the quantitative study of the distribution and causes of mental disorders in human populations. Epidemiological studies involve three sequential levels of investigation: description, analysis, and experimentation (Regier & Burke 1989). Epidemiological method has the potential to make substantial contributions to the study of the relationship between aggressive behavior and mental disorders. At the descriptive level, epidemiological studies should produce basic estimates of the rate of aggression in psychiatric patients and compare the rate with that of the general population. At the analytical level, epidemiological studies should analyze the basis of variations in aggression rates between different diagnostic groups to identify risk factors that may contribute to the occurrence of violence. At the experimental level, epidemiological studies should test the presumed association between risk factors and aggressive behavior and seek to reduce the occurrence of aggression by controlling for risk factors.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Alfonso Troisi

  2. Department of Forensic Psychopathology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy

    Marco Marchetti

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  1. Alfonso Troisi
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  2. Marco Marchetti
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

    Michel Hersen

  2. Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Robert T. Ammerman  & Lori A. Sisson  & 

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Troisi, A., Marchetti, M. (1994). Epidemiology. In: Hersen, M., Ammerman, R.T., Sisson, L.A. (eds) Handbook of Aggressive and Destructive Behavior in Psychiatric Patients. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2403-8_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2403-8_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6019-3

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