Whiteness and loss in outer East London: tracing the collective memories of diaspora space

This paper explores collective memory in Newham, East London. It addresses how remembering East London as the home of whiteness and traditional forms of community entails powerful forms of forgetting. Newham's formation through migration – its ‘great time’ – has ensured that myths of indigeneity and whiteness have never stood still. Through engaging with young people's and youth workers' memory practices, the paper explores how phantasms of whiteness and class loss are traced over, and how this tracing reveals ambivalence and porosity, at the same time as it highlights the continued allure of race. It explores how whiteness and class loss are appropriated across ethnic boundaries and how they are mobilized to produce new forms of racial hierarchy in a ‘super-diverse’ place

Adult firesetters: prevalence, characteristics, psychopathology

In the USA, one in 100 adults has a self-reported lifetime history of deliberate firesetting and, for 38% of these firesetting persisted beyond the age of 15 years (Blanco et al, 2010; Vaughn et al, 2010). These statistics, findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), represent the first attempt worldwide to gauge the extent of intentional firesetting in a general adult population. If it is accurate, then, based on US population figures (US Census Bureau, 2010), there are roughly 1 million US adults who have deliberately set fires since age 15. In the UK the figure would approach 200000 (Office for National Statistics, 2005). This chapter critically explores the current evidence base on the prevalence of firesetting behaviour and examines these new findings in the light of previous research on arson and firesetting among more highly selected offending and clinical populations. The key questions addressed relate first to the credibility of this new evidence, and the extent to which it supports the current knowledge base about the correlates, characteristics and psychopathology of arsonists and firesetters. Second, the chapter synthesises the current knowledge of the characteristics of those who deliberately set fires, and addresses the sociodemographic factors, psychopathological features, co-offending behaviours and developmental characteristics associated with deliberate firesetting (see Table 1.1). The chapter provides practitioners with state-of-the-art information on which to base clinical decision-making in this difficult and sometimes misunderstood area, and highlights gaps in knowledge, where future research is needed. ‘Arson’ is a legal term which defines the specific criminal act of intentionally or recklessly setting fire to property or wildland areas; an arsonist has, by definition, been convicted of the crime of arson

Absconding of patients from an independent UK psychiatric hospital: a 3-year retrospective analysis of events and characteristics of absconders

The need for accurate local information on the scale, nature and outcome of absconding or Absence Without Leave (AWOL) from an independent UK psychiatric hospital led to this 3-year (1997–1999) retrospective analysis of of AWOL data. One hundred and forty-eight AWOL incidents involving 88 patients were identified. Absconders were found to be significantly younger, more likely to be detained upon admission and more likely to be unmarried than a control group (n = 1378) of non-absconders. There were no significant differences for sex, length of admission or ethnicity. Descriptive data on the circumstances surrounding AWOL events are given, with at least 24 (16.2%) incidents having serious adverse outcomes. Baseline absconding rates are presented for the specialist clinical divisions within the hospital. There is a need for more detailed studies of absconding by patients within the Adolescent Mental Health Service subgroup where the absconding rate was relatively high and engagement in risk activity whilst AWOL relatively frequent

Physical assault by patients against physiotherapists working in mental health settings

Objectives: There is a lack of empirical research about physical assault by patients against physiotherapists who work in mental health settings. This study aimed to ascertain the lifetime prevalence and 12-month incidence of assault by patients against physiotherapists in UK mental health settings. This research will inform the development of pre- and post-registration training programmes for physiotherapists. Design: Postal questionnaire survey. Participants: Members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists' special interest group for physiotherapists working in the field of psychiatry. Main outcome measures: Self-reported experience of physical assault by patients. Secondary outcome was self-reported training received to manage violent and aggressive patients. Results: Questionnaires were returned by 116/178 (65%) special interest group members. Fifty-one percent (59/116) reported that they had been assaulted at work during their career, and 24% (28/116) had been assaulted by a patient in the previous 12 months. Physiotherapists in mental health settings appear to be at greater risk of assault by patients than other non-nursing clinicians. Conclusions: Physiotherapists who work in mental health are at similar risk of physical assault by patients as their nursing colleagues, who are required by the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council to receive education and training in the prevention and management of aggression and violence in their pre-registration training. The authors recommend that appropriate training should be included in pre-registration programmes for physiotherapists

Aggression in specialist secure and forensic inpatient mental health care: incident across care pathways

Purpose - To describe how aggressive and violent incidents differ across specialist gender, security and mental health/ learning disability pathways in specialist secure care. Design/methodology/approach - A retrospective survey of routinely collected incident data from one 207-bed UK independent sector provider of specialist medium and low secure mental health care for male and female adults with primary diagnosis of mental illness or intellectual disability. Findings - In total, 3,133 incidents involving 184/373 (49.3%) patients were recorded (68.2% other-directed aggression, 31.8% self-harm). Most incidents occurred in the medium secure wards but more than half of the most severely rated self-harm incidents occurred in low security. Men were disproportionately involved in incidents, but a small number of women were persistently involved in multiple acts. Incidents were most common in the intellectual disability pathway. Research limitations/implications - Incidents, especially those of lower severity, can be under-reported in routine practice. Information about incident severity was limited. Practical implications - Aggressive incidents do not occur homogenously across forensic and secure mental health services but differ substantially in their frequency and nature across security levels, and gender and mental health/ intellectual disability pathways. Different approaches to training and management are required to ensure appropriate prevention and intervention. Future practice should draw on emerging theories of differential susceptibility. Originality/value - This paper extends current knowledge about how incidents of violence and aggression differ across secure setting

Causes and management of patient aggression and violence in forensic settings: staff and patient perspectives

Aggression and violence are common within psychiatric facilities (Whittington & Richer, 2006) and can affect staff physically and emotionally (Abderhalden et al, 2002; Duxbury et al, 2006; Maguire & Ryan, 2007; Bilgin, 2009). Despite the high prevalence and increase in concern over aggression and violence, research to account for it has been limited. Previous literature has illustrated that internal, external, situational causes and management factors provide explanations for aggression and violence within acute psychiatric inpatient settings (Anderson & Bushman, 2002; Duxbury, 2003), but less is known about secure psychiatric settings. We aimed to explore the attitudes about the management of violence and aggression among patients resident in, and staff working in, a secure mental health service