IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i23p9121-d457850.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Weather and Aggressive Behavior among Patients in Psychiatric Hospitals—An Exploratory Study

Author

Listed:
  • Jakub Lickiewicz

    (Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-501 Kraków, Poland)

  • Katarzyna Piotrowicz

    (Department of Climatology, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Jagiellonian University, 30-387 Krakow, Poland)

  • Patricia Paulsen Hughes

    (Department of Kinesiology, Applied Health and Recreation, College of Education and Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA)

  • Marta Makara-Studzińska

    (Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Institute of Nursing and Midwifery, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 31-501 Kraków, Poland)

Abstract

Background: The number of meteoropaths, or people negatively affected by weather conditions, is rising dramatically. Meteoropathy is developing rapidly due to ever poorer adaptations of people to changes in weather conditions. Strong weather stimuli may not only exacerbate symptoms in people with diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems but may also induce aggressive behavior. Researchers have shown that patients suffering from mental illnesses are most vulnerable to changes in the weather and postulate a connection between the seasons and aggressive behavior. Methods : The goal of the study was to analyze the relationship between coercive measures and weather factors. The researchers identified what meteorological conditions prevailed on days with an increased number of incidents of aggressive behavior leading to the use of physical coercion towards patients in a psychiatric hospital in Poland. In order to determine the impact of weather conditions on the frequency at which physical coercion measures were used, the hospital’s “coercion sheets” from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2017 were analyzed. The data were correlated with meteorological data. In order to determine the relationship between the occurrence of specific weather conditions and the number of coercive interventions ( N ), researchers utilized Spearman’s rank correlation analysis together with two-dimensional scatter diagrams (dependency models), multiple regression, stepwise regression, frequencies, and conditional probability (%). Results : Lower barometric pressure and foehn wind increased aggressive behavior in patients that led to coercive measures. For temperature (positive correlation) and humidity (negative correlation), there was a poor but statistically significant correlation. Conclusions : Monitoring weather conditions might be useful in predicting and preventing aggression by patients who are susceptible to weather changes

Suggested Citation

  • Jakub Lickiewicz & Katarzyna Piotrowicz & Patricia Paulsen Hughes & Marta Makara-Studzińska, 2020. "Weather and Aggressive Behavior among Patients in Psychiatric Hospitals—An Exploratory Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9121-:d:457850
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9121/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/9121/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mullins, Jamie T. & White, Corey, 2019. "Temperature and mental health: Evidence from the spectrum of mental health outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    2. Shuyu Zhang & Zhengzhong Kuang & Xiakun Zhang, 2015. "Effects of Simulated Heat Waves with Strong Sudden Cooling Weather on ApoE Knockout Mice," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Marshall Burke & Felipe González & Patrick Baylis & Sam Heft-Neal & Ceren Baysan & Sanjay Basu & Solomon Hsiang, 2018. "Higher temperatures increase suicide rates in the United States and Mexico," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 8(8), pages 723-729, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Christian A. Mikutta & Charlotte Pervilhac & Hansjörg Znoj & Andrea Federspiel & Thomas J. Müller, 2022. "The Impact of Foehn Wind on Mental Distress among Patients in a Swiss Psychiatric Hospital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-11, August.
    2. Paweł Kotecki & Barbara Więckowska & Barbara Stawińska-Witoszyńska, 2023. "The Impact of Meteorological Parameters and Seasonal Changes on Reporting Patients with Selected Cardiovascular Diseases to Hospital Emergency Departments: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Díaz, Juan-José & Saldarriaga, Victor, 2023. "A drop of love? Rainfall shocks and spousal abuse: Evidence from rural Peru," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. Cosaert, Sam & Nieto Castro, Adrian & Tatsiramos, Konstantinos, 2023. "Temperature and the Timing of Work," IZA Discussion Papers 16480, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Bertinelli, Luisito & Mahé, Clotilde & Strobl, Eric, 2023. "Earthquakes and mental health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    4. Gibney, Garreth & McDermott, Thomas K.J. & Cullinan, John, 2023. "Temperature, morbidity, and behavior in milder climates," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    5. Benedikt Janzen, 2022. "Temperature and Mental Health: Evidence from Helpline Calls," Papers 2207.04992, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2022.
    6. Xin Zhang & Xi Chen & Xiaobo Zhang, 2024. "Temperature and Low-Stakes Cognitive Performance," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(1), pages 75-96.
    7. Aatishya Mohanty & Nattavudh Powdthavee & Cheng Keat Tang & Andrew J. Oswald, 2024. "Temperature Variability and Natural Disasters," Papers 2409.14936, arXiv.org.
    8. Sam Cosaert & Adrián Nieto & Konstantinos Tatsiramos, 2023. "Temperature and Joint Time Use," CESifo Working Paper Series 10464, CESifo.
    9. Richard Freund, 2023. "From drought to distress: unpacking the mental health effects of water scarcity," CSAE Working Paper Series 2023-07, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    10. Meierrieks, Daniel, 2021. "Weather shocks, climate change and human health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    11. Qiang Wen & Haiqiang Liu & Jinyuan Chen & Huiyao Ye & Zeyu Pan, 2023. "Evaluation of Satisfaction with the Built Environment of University Buildings under the Epidemic and Its Impact on Student Anxiety," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-23, February.
    12. Yan Chen & Xiaohong Chen & Hongshan Ai & Xiaoqing Tan, 2022. "Temperature and Migration Intention: Evidence from the Unified National Graduate Entrance Examination in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-23, August.
    13. Frijters, Paul & Johnston, David W. & Knott, Rachel & Torgler, Benno, 2021. "Resilience to Disaster: Evidence from Daily Wellbeing Data," IZA Discussion Papers 14220, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Jamie Mullins & Corey White, 2019. "Does Access to Health Care Mitigate Environmental Damages?," Working Papers 1905, California Polytechnic State University, Department of Economics.
    15. Sarya Natur & Odeya Damri & Galila Agam, 2022. "The Effect of Global Warming on Complex Disorders (Mental Disorders, Primary Hypertension, and Type 2 Diabetes)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-9, July.
    16. Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C., 2024. "The impact of high temperatures on performance in work-related activities," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    17. Li, Fanlue & He, Ke & Wang, Yuejie & Zhang, Junbiao, 2021. "Does Indoor Air Pollution from Solid Fuels Influence the Mental Health of Rural Residents? Evidence from China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315024, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Lester Lusher & Tim Ruberg, 2024. "Unveiling the Unseen Illness: Public Health Warnings and Heat Stroke," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2024-020, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    19. Simone Lucatello & Roberto Sánchez, 2022. "Climate Change in North America: Risks, Impacts, and Adaptation. A Reflection Based on the IPCC Report AR6 - 2022," Remef - Revista Mexicana de Economía y Finanzas Nueva Época REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance), Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas, IMEF, vol. 17(4), pages 1-18, Octubre -.
    20. Heilmann, Kilian & Kahn, Matthew E. & Tang, Cheng Keat, 2021. "The urban crime and heat gradient in high and low poverty areas," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9121-:d:457850. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.