Background: The accurate and consistent recording of problematic
incidents for in-patient behaviour is important in monitoring patient’s treatment
and needs, and for comparing behaviour across different settings.
Methods: The Aggression and Vulnerability Scale (AVS) classifies individual
incidents into 10 categories covering aggression (Physical Aggression against
Other People, Verbal Aggression, Aggression against Property, Non-Compliant
Behaviour) and vulnerabilities (Self-Harm/Suicide Attempt, Self-Neglect,
Victimized/Exploited, Sexual Vulnerability, Absconding Behaviour and Accident)
and rates severity of the incident. Twenty raters (10 naïve and 10 experienced)
rated 28 vignettes drawn from nursing records.
Results: The AVS had high reliability for both classification category and
severity in both experienced and inexperienced raters.
Conclusion: The AVS is a reliable scheme for the coding of problematic
behavior in an in-patient setting. The AVS is available free from the authors