Relationships among risk, and communication and social skills in a high security forensic setting.

The Behavioural Status Index was developed for risk assessment within forensic care. This paper reports data analysis for the Behavioural Status Index and its subscales. Data were collected, using a repeated measures method by primary nurses, from a sample of 503 individual patients in two high security mental health hospitals in the UK. Results are reported for inter-item correlations, factor analysis, and differences among independent groups of patients, categorized by Mental Health Act 1983 classification, patient ward dependency, and patient gender. Data trends are indicative of clinically interesting relationships. A distinct factorial structure emerged suggesting groupings of behaviours.