Effects of Integrated Moral Reasoning Development Intervention for Management of Violence in Schizophrenia

Effects of Integrated Moral Reasoning Development Intervention for Management of Violence in Schizophrenia

Effects of Integrated Moral Reasoning Development Intervention for Management of Violence in Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Moral cognition is an important and multidimensional, but often overlooked, determinant of violence. Very few interventions have systematically examined the role of moral reasoning, anger management and problem-solving together in violence. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the sustained effects of an integrated Moral Reasoning Development Intervention (MRDI) on management of repetitive violence in schizophrenia. This study placed special emphasis on essential components related to moral reasoning and violence in patients with schizophrenia. Evaluations including measures of violence, moral reasoning, ethical valuation and judgement, decision-making, conflict management style, and personality traits, were performed at baseline, end of intervention, and 1-month follow-up after intervention. MRDI was superior to treatment-as-usual in improving moral reasoning and related variables and violence outcomes. In comparison with the treatment-as-usual group, patients in the MRDI group showed improved levels of moral reasoning whereas decreased levels of violent behaviors. The MRDI participants also experienced significantly greater improvements or changes in their ethical valuation and judgement, decision-making style and preferences, and conflict management style. Our findings provide important implications for risk assessment and violence management and prevention.

Moral cognition is an important and multidimensional, but often overlooked, determinant of violence. Very few interventions have systematically examined the role of moral reasoning, anger management and problem-solving together in violence. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the sustained effects of an integrated Moral Reasoning Development Intervention (MRDI) on management of repetitive violence in schizophrenia. This study placed special emphasis on essential components related to moral reasoning and violence in patients with schizophrenia. Evaluations including measures of violence, moral reasoning, ethical valuation and judgement, decision-making, conflict management style, and personality traits, were performed at baseline, end of intervention, and 1-month follow-up after intervention. MRDI was superior to treatment-as-usual in improving moral reasoning and related variables and violence outcomes (p < 0.05). In comparison with the treatment-as-usual group (n = 22), patients in the MRDI group (n = 21) showed improved levels of moral reasoning whereas decreased levels of violent behaviors. The MRDI participants also experienced significantly greater improvements or changes (p < 0.05) in their ethical valuation and judgement, decision-making style and preferences, and conflict management style. Our findings provide important implications for risk assessment and violence management and prevention. The triggering point of violence is multi-faceted and dynamic. Many risk factors for violence intertwined and interacted at multiple levels. This integrated moral reasoning development intervention, when applied in conjunction with psychiatric standard care, could display synergistic and effective effects on moral reasoning and ethical evaluation, and impulsivity and personality features of repetitive violence in patients with schizophrenia. Suggestions for future research are made. There is a need to concurrently examine moral reasoning, violence and conflict handling styles in a dyadic context such as vSZ patients and their family members involved, so that a whole picture of the violence can be better observed.

The MRDI is comprised of 4 components that are run concurrently: moral reasoning, strategies of anger management and problem-solving and social skills.

The MRDI is comprised of 4 components that are run concurrently: moral reasoning, strategies of anger management and problem-solving and social skills.

Moral reasoning (The score 1 which corresponds with the first stage of Kohlberg's moral development, indicates the patient did not understand the moral content of the proposition. )

Change of status of moral reasoning from Baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), to 1-month follow-up after intervention (T3)

Ethical valuation (The patients are required to rate the questionable actions of a hypothetical auditor on several 7-point Likert scales, anchored on such as unjust/just, unfair/fair, unethical/ethical, not morally right/morally right, culturally unacceptable/culturally acceptable.)

Change of ethical valuation from Baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), to 1-month follow-up after intervention (T3)

Reasoning and thinking styles (A higher score indicates a more rational/experiential thinking style.)

Change of reasoning and thinking styles from Baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), to 1-month follow-up after intervention (T3)

Conflict management style (The higher the score is, the greater a particular conflict management style is used.)

Change of conflict management style from Baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), to 1-month follow-up after intervention (T3)

Change of violence/aggression from Baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), to 1-month follow-up after intervention (T3)

Personality traits (A greater change from the baseline in this scale (with higher score) on each of personality traits represents more the expression of each personality trait was calculated.)

Change of personality traits from Baseline (T1), immediately after the intervention (T2), to 1-month follow-up after intervention (T3)

Inclusion Criteria: Clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia for more than 2 years Psychiatrically hospitalized Repetitive violence within one year Having basic literacy More than 20 years old Less than 65 years old Exclusion Criteria: • Clinical diagnosis of catatonic schizophrenia and schizophreniform disorder.