Understanding aggressive behaviour in patients with schizophrenia through social cognitive theory: a narrative literature review

Abstract

Background/AimsStudies have shown that some people diagnosed with schizophrenia are more predisposed to distress than others because of positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia, leading to aggressive and violent behaviour. Moreover, there is no conclusive evidence to substantiate the reasons for the causes of aggression and what suitable interventions can be used. The aim of this study was to explore evidence-based literature through social cognitive theory to find effective strategies to manage aggression among patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.MethodsA background literature review search was conducted from the following databases: Medline, Cinhal and PsychInfo. The Boolean operator OR was used to search for Aggression OR Violence OR Cognitive theory OR Interventions OR Mental illness OR Schizophrenia OR Self-control OR Self-efficacy OR Social learning theory. Suitable papers were hand searched and seven papers were selected.ResultsResearch studies are in favour of social cognitive interventions to manage aggression in patients with schizophrenia as they have fewer side effects and can be used alongside other pharmacological interventions as the second line of treatment. However, findings from these studies should be viewed with caution, resulting from the contradiction that still exists in whether psychotic symptoms are correlated to aggression and violent behaviours among patients with schizophrenia.ConclusionsSocial cognitive models can enable health care professionals to explore the causes of aggression from a broad perspective, using appropriate risk assessment tools to design appropriate strategies.