An exploration of the sleep quality and potential violence among patients with schizophrenia in community

Purpose Sleep quality in patients with schizophrenia is correlated with potential violence. However, few studies have conducted in‐depth discussions on community patients with schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to explore the influences of demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptom severity, and sleep quality in community patients with schizophrenia on the risks of potential violence and its subdimensions (ie, physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, and hostility). Design and Methods This study adopted a cross‐sectional research design. Using convenience sampling, 78 community patients with schizophrenia were recruited from psychiatric outpatient clinics, day wards, and those who received home‐care services. Findings This study discovered that sleep quality is a crucial factor that influences the risks of potential violence. Analysis on the subdimensions revealed that having a violence history during the preceding month and sleep quality are crucial factors that influence physical aggression. In addition, sleep quality is a crucial factor that influences the occurrence of anger. Age and sleep quality substantially influence hostility. However, this study did not identify any crucial factors that influenced verbal aggression. Practice Implications In the future, community nursing professionals should collect data on the patients’ age, whether the patients exhibited violence behavior during the preceding month, and their sleep quality to prevent risks of potential violence, physical aggression, anger, or hostility.