The physical restraint of young people

Children and young people who are in residential care sometimes behave aggressively towards themselves and others, and they may need to be physically restrained by staff. This paper describes a small‐scale study which examines the use of physical restraint in one Scottish region. It explores the circumstances surrounding the restraint and the feelings of staff about the use of the restraint. The study shows that many of the factors that have been shown to be associated with violence and aggression were present in the incidents described.