Responses to Violence in a Psychiatric Setting

With an archival method, we studied 453 incidents of violence at a Connecticut state psychiatric hospital for adolescents. Records revealed no difference in the number of violent acts by White and non-White patients. However, the White hospital staff physically restrained non-White patients nearly four times as often as they restrained Whites. Interracial contact reduced this differential imposition of restraints. These findings complement experimental evidence and illustrate contemporary race relations.