Workplace violence and mental illness

by Kristine M Empie

In focusing on a particular type of workplace violence, i.e., violence committed by mentally ill clients against those who work in the field of mental health, this study examined the routine activities of employees who worked in the mental-health field and the subsequent role that their routines may have played in their victimization experiences. The study population consisted of mental health employees who worked in Western Pennsylvania. The population, as defined by the Department of Public Welfare-Office of Mental Health under Title 55 of the Pennsylvania Code, was composed of mental health workers who were employed in licensed mental health facilities, including outpatient, inpatient, partial hospitalization, crisis, family-based, long-term structured residence, and community residential rehabilitation. Based on the sampling frame, facilities were limited to those that were licensed, which excluded employees who worked in private practice.^ The final sample size was 449, with 162 w