Who is dangerous? Problems of validity and reliability in assessment and documentation of socially aggressive behavior
Steinert, T.; Gebhardt, R.P.
Psychiatrische Praxis 25(5): 221-226
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0303-4259 PMID: 9816600 Document Number: 491674
Records of violent behaviour and its sequels gain increasing interest as a matter of quality assurance. The paper presents scales and instruments applied in psychiatric institutions until now. While problems of reliability are solved sufficiently, there are major problems of validity in the measurement of violence. To be usable for quality management, a documentation has to provide a clear cut-off for the severity of violent incidents that should be reported. Otherwise uncomparable data and underreporting will result.