Types of Nursing Home Residents With Self-Destructive Behaviours: Analysis of the Harmful Behaviours Scale

This study investigated the types of self-destructive behaviours identified by the Harmful Behaviours Scale & the variables associated with them. A cross sectional survey involving 647 residents in 11 nursing homes in Sydney, Australia was conducted. Latent class analysis of the Harmful Behaviours Scale identified 4 groups, described as aggressive-resistant, food refusal, behaviourally disturbed, & non-symptomatic with little self-destructive behaviour. The behaviourally disturbed group engaged in a widespread combination of direct & indirect self-destructive behaviours. Three groups displayed self-destructive behaviours; each group was associated with a different pattern of variables. (26 refs.)