The Failure of Routine Assessment to Detect Histories of Assault Experienced by Psychiatric Patients

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that patients' histories of having been physically or sexually assaulted are often not elicited in routine clinical assessments, the authors reviewed the charts of 100 inpatients for any mention of such experiences. The data were compared with results of earlier research interviews in which the same 100 patients were questioned directly about assault experiences. Comparison of the two sets of data showed that only 9 percent of the assault histories obtained during research interviews were mentioned on the patients' charts. Because of the clinical significance of most major assaults, the authors recommend that clinicians routinely inquire about assault history.