The mediating role of neuroception of psychological safety in the relationship between traumatic experiences and aggressive behaviors among inpatients with mental disorders

Description

Lei Zhang, Zhiyang Lv, Haiying Min, and Yanbo Wang study what links trauma to aggression on psychiatric wards in this 2026 paper. Ward violence is common and harmful, and most responses focus on restraint and risk scores. The authors look instead at an unconscious sense of safety, called neuroception, which the body forms before thought.

Two hundred sixteen inpatients in China completed scales on trauma, safety sense, and aggression. Over nine in ten reported treatment-related trauma. Trauma tracked with more aggression and a weaker safety sense, which itself tracked with less aggression. Modeling showed the safety sense carried about a fifth to a quarter of the trauma effect. The authors say the pathway deserves longer studies.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13621445