Primary Health Care: Open Access

Aggressive behavior is an associated symptom of many psychiatric disorders and can manifest throughout the life span, from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, to domestic violence in adults, to dementia in older adults. While much of the aggression literature has focused on adolescents and adults, less attention has been given to understanding the etiology of aggressive behaviors across the entire developmental spectrum. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the manifestation and causes of aggressive behavior across the life span as well as provide suggestions for the roles that nurses, who frequently interact with patients from all age groups, can play in preventing and intervening in aggressive behavior. Potential consequences to both the victims and aggressors are also outlined. Aggressive behavior is the observable manifestation of aggression and is often associated with developmental transitions and a range of medical and psychiatric diagnoses across the lifespan. As healthcare professionals involved in the medical and psychosocial care of patients from birth through death, nurses frequently encounter—and may serve as—both victims and perpetrators of aggressive behavior in the workplace. While the nursing literature has continually reported research on prevention and treatment approaches, less emphasis has been given to understanding the etiology, including contextual precipitants of aggressive behaviour. This information can be published in our peer reviewed journal with impact factors and are calculated using citations not only from research articles but also review articles (which tend to receive more citations), editorials, letters, meeting abstracts, short communications, and case reports. The inclusion of these publications provides the opportunity for editors and publishers to manipulate the ratio used to calculate the impact factor and try to increase their number rapidly. Impact factor plays a major role for the particular journal. Journal with higher impact factor is considered to be more important than other ones.