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Professionals' attitudes towards sex between institutionalized patients.
M L Commons1, J T Bohn, L T Godon
1Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Boston 02115-6196.
American Journal of Psychotherapy
|October 1, 1992
Summary
Staff decisions on hospitalized patients' sexual activity are influenced by the nature and location of the act, not patient competence or consent. Professionals showed more condemnation towards homosexual acts.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Mental Health
- Medical Ethics
Background:
- Patient sexuality in institutional settings presents complex ethical and policy challenges.
- Lack of empirical testing and consensus complicates management of hospitalized patients' sexual activity.
- Guidelines for sexual activity among hospitalized mental health patients are critically needed.
Observation:
- Six factors influencing staff decisions were examined: patient competence, consent, nature of sexual activity, location, and sex of patients involved.
- Mental health professionals' moral views on patient sexuality were assessed.
- Hypotheses predicted conventional moral views and significant influence of consent and competence factors.
Findings:
- The nature and location of sexual activity significantly influenced staff judgments, supporting the hypothesis of conventional moral views.
- Homosexual acts were most condemned, while hugging was least condemned.
- Contrary to hypotheses, patient competence and consent did not significantly affect staff decisions.
Implications:
- Mental health professionals require enhanced training in assessing patient competence for sexual activity.
- Re-examination of professional prejudices, such as homophobia, is crucial for objective decision-making regarding institutional policies on patient sexuality.