Forms of Violent Behavior in Patients with Mental Disorders at the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana from 2018 to 2021 Using the OAS/BVC Scale Assessment—A Descriptive Study

Gender	n = 4392	%
Male	2020	46.0
Female	2372	54.0
Forms of aggressive behaviour
Verbal aggression	3695	84.1
Auto-aggressive behaviour	533	12.1
Aggressive behaviour towards objects	1449	33.0
Hetero-aggressive behaviour	2460	56.0
Wards
Acute psychiatric unit	2572	58.6
Intensive care unit	973	22.2
Other wards	800	18.2
No data	47	1.1
Shift
Morning (7 a.m. – 2 p.m.)	1611	36.7
Evening (2 p.m. – 9 p.m.)	1927	43.87
Night (9 p.m. – 7 a.m.)	758	17.3
No data	96	2.2

[i] Legend: n – number; % – percentage

Table 2:

Violent behaviour according to gender, type of ward, and work shift in the years 2018–2021.

Gender-based violent behaviour
Forms of aggressive behaviour	Gender	n	M	SD	t / p	ES*
Auto-aggressive behaviour	male	192	0.36	1.13	4.319 / < 0.001	0.13
female	341	0.52	1.30
Aggression towards objects	male	689	0.89	1.31	1.759 / 0.079	0.05
female	760	0.83	1.26
Hetero-aggressive behaviour	male	1345	2.35	1.74	13.409 / < 0.001	0.41
female	1115	1.63	1.78
Verbal aggression	male	1675	2.13	1.40	3.293 / < 0.001	0.10
female	2020	2.00	1.22
AS score	male	2020	5.74	3.05	8.471 / < 0.001	0.26
female	2372	4.98	2.83

Violent behaviour by type of ward
Forms of aggressive behaviour	Ward	n	M	SD	F/p	ES**
Auto-aggressive behaviour	acute psychiatric unit	270	0.38	1.13	74.827 / < 0.001	0.03
Auto-aggressive behaviour	intensive care unit	69	0.25	0.93	74.827 / < 0.001	0.03
other wards	189	0.91	1.67
acute psychiatric unit	883	0.86	1.26
Aggression towards objects	intensive care unit	346	0.94	1.32	5.627 / 0.004	<0.01
Aggression towards objects	other wards	207	0.74	1.30	5.627 / 0.004	<0.01
acute psychiatric unit	1362	1.84	1.79
Hetero-aggressive behaviour	intensive care unit	699	2.49	1.65	56.082 / < 0.001	0.03
Hetero-aggressive behaviour	other wards	379	1.73	1.88	56.082 / < 0.001	0.03
acute psychiatric unit	2219	2.06	1.28
Verbal aggression	intensive care unit	851	2.23	1.22	23.287 / < 0.001	0.01
Verbal aggression	other wards	582	1.81	1.43	23.287 / < 0.001	0.01
acute psychiatric unit	2572	5.15	2.82
AS score	intensive care unit	973	5.91	2.83	25.318 / < 0.001	0.01
other wards	800	5.18	3.36

Violent behaviour by work shift
Forms of aggressive behaviour	Work shift	n	M	SD	F/p	ES**
Auto-aggressive behaviour	morning	1611	0.46	1.23	13.825 / < 0.001	0.01
Auto-aggressive behaviour	evening	1927	0.51	1.31	13.825 / < 0.001	0.01
night	758	0.24	0.89
Aggression towards objects	morning	1611	0.80	1.27	2.693 / 0.068	< 0.01
Aggression towards objects	evening	1927	0.90	1.31	2.693 / 0.068	< 0.01
night	758	0.87	1.24
Hetero-aggressive behaviour	morning	1611	1.87	1.80	5.283 / < 0.001	< 0.01
Hetero-aggressive behaviour	evening	1927	2.06	1.79	5.283 / < 0.001	< 0.01
night	758	1.97	1.79
Verbal aggression	morning	1611	2.03	1.31	2.356 / 0.095	< 0.01
Verbal aggression	evening	1927	2.07	1.31	2.356 / 0.095	< 0.01
night	758	2.15	1.25
AS score	morning	1611	5.16	2.90	8.322 / < 0.001	< 0.01
AS score	evening	1927	5.55	3.03	8.322 / < 0.001	< 0.01
night	758	5.23	2.77

Legend: n – sample size; M – mean value; SD – standard deviation; t – t-test; F – ANOVA test; AS score – Total Aggression Score; p – statistical significance at p < 0.05; ES – effect size;

* Cohen's d;

** Eta-squared

Table 3:

Comparison of BVC scores across years.

BVC rating		0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Total	M	SD	F/p
2018	n	0	11	26	68	91	41	10	112	359	4.68	1.83	10.287 / < 0.001
2018	%	0.00	3.06	7.24	18.94	25.35	11.42	2.79	31.20	100.00	4.68	1.83
2019	n	0	10	53	230	317	252	60	295	1217	4.73	1.58
2019	%	0.00	0.82	4.35	18.90	26.05	20.71	4.93	24.24	100.00	4.73	1.58
2020	n	0	19	93	273	377	310	104	302	1478	4.61	1.58
2020	%	0.00	1.29	6.29	18.47	25.51	20.97	7.04	20.43	100.00	4.61	1.58
2021	n	0	8	45	202	348	252	125	358	1338	4.94*	1.56
2021	%	0.00	0.60	3.36	15.10	26.01	18.83	9.34	26.76	100.00	4.94*	1.56
Total	n	0	48	217	773	1133	855	299	1067	4392	4.75	1.60
Total	%	0.00	1.09	4.94	17.60	25.80	19.47	6.81	24.29	100.00	4.75	1.60

[i] Legend: n – number; % – percentage; M – mean; SD – standard deviation; F – ANOVA test; p – statistical significance at p < 0.05; Eta-squared = 0.01

Mean values of the total aggression score (AS score) by BVC score.

References

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjph-2026-0021 | Journal eISSN: 1854-2476 | Journal ISSN: 0351-0026

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Language: English, Polish, Slovenian

Page range: 175 - 183

Submitted on: Jan 21, 2026

Accepted on: Jun 29, 2026

Published on: Sep 1, 2026

Published by: National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Keywords:

Aggression,

Psychiatric hospitals,

Inpatients,

Mental disorders,

Overt Aggression Scale (OAS),

Related subjects:

Hygiene and environmental medicine

© 2026 Rok Hatze, Maja Šikić Pogačar, Jožica Peterka Novak, Branko Bregar, published by National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 65 (2026): Issue 3 (September 2026)

Forms of Violent Behavior in Patients with Mental Disorders at the University Psychiatric Clinic Ljubljana from 2018 to 2021 Using the OAS/BVC Scale Assessment—A Descriptive Study

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