Aggression is overt action intended to harm. This
term describes animal and human behavior. Various
rating scales are used to assess human aggression. These
scales may separately assess verbal aggression,
aggression against objects, against self, and against
others (Yudofsky et al. 1986). The term aggression
tends to be used in biomedical and psychological
context. In this review, aggression against self will not
be considered.
Violence denotes aggression among humans. The
term is more commonly used in sociology and
criminology (e.g., violent crime).The terms violence and
aggression are used interchangeably, depending on
context.
Agitation is excessive motor or verbal activity.
Verbal aggression may include inarticulate screams,
abuse, or threats.
Hostility denotes unfriendly attitudes. Overt irritability,
anger, resentment, or verbal aggression is manifestation
of hostility. Hostility is defined operationally
by rating scales. The most frequently used method to
assess hostility is the “hostility” item in the Positive and
Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) (Kay et al. 1989) or
the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) (Guy 1986).