According to Steinert, the most important predictors
of aggressive behavior are life history of aggression and
severity of pathology.
7
We agree with Amore et al. and
Biancosino et al., who claim that aggressive individuals
have higher scores on the BPRS scale.
10,11
In contrast,
non-aggressive patients tend to have more depressive
and negative symptoms.
Our findings are in accordance with those reported
in previous studies. For example, Colasanti found
that excitement/activation is more closely associated
with verbal and physical aggression.
12
Raja & Azzoni
demonstrated that hostile and violent individuals have
higher scores on the hostility/agitation component and
lower scores on the anxious-depression component
than non-aggressive patients.
14
Amore et al. confirmed
the association of disorder severity (higher overall
score on BPRS) and claimed additionally that the
hostility/suspiciousness component is a predictor of
verbal aggression turning into physical aggression.
10
Huber et al. described a possible factor of excitement
of BPRS, composed of hostility, excitement and lack of
cooperation, and found that this factor is associated
with aggressiveness, risk or attempt of suicide and
involuntary hospitalization.
13
In the analysis of the factors suggested by Crippa et
al., we found a positive association between activation
and thinking disorder, as well as a negative association
with anxious-depression.
17
Although no association
was found for the withdrawal-retardation component,
uncooperativeness had a positive association, which
in our study seems to be actually associated with
psychomotor agitation and psychotic symptoms.
The Brazilian version of the BPRS scale has its own
components, slightly different from those found in the
foreign literature, but the associations found in our
study point to the same direction and suggest that
aggressiveness in the hospital is linked to agitation
and psychosis.
Within the group of aggressive individuals, violent
patients had the most severe psychopathologies.
Hostility and psychomotor agitation are associated
with any type of aggressiveness in the first 24