Measuring Staff Attitudes to Coercion in Poland

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Nursing
• Mental Health Policy

Background:

• Coercive measures in psychiatric settings may be overused in Poland.
• Limited research exists on Polish nurses' attitudes toward coercion and influencing factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• Validate the Staff Attitudes to Coercion Scale (SACS) for Polish psychiatric nurses and psychiatrists.
• Compare Polish SACS with the original Norwegian version.
• Examine differences in attitudes between nurses and psychiatrists.
• Investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and attitudes toward coercion.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 351 psychiatric nurses and psychiatrists using SACS and the General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES).
• Validated SACS factor structure using confirmatory principal component factor analysis.
• Assessed internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and face validity.
• Analyzed differences between professions and countries, and the association with GSES.

Main Results:

• The Polish SACS demonstrated a three-factor structure consistent with the original Norwegian version.
• Internal consistency was acceptable for 'coercion as security' and 'coercion as offending' but not 'coercion as treatment'.
• Test-retest reliability was excellent; face validity varied across factors.
• Nurses rated 'coercion as treatment' significantly higher than psychiatrists.
• No significant association found between general self-efficacy and attitudes to coercion.
• Significant differences in coercion attitudes were observed between Poland and Germany.

Conclusions:

• The three-factor SACS structure is suitable for Polish mental health professionals.
• Attitudes toward coercion differ between nurses and psychiatrists, with nurses viewing 'coercion as treatment' more favorably.
• Self-efficacy did not significantly correlate with attitudes toward coercion.
• Cultural variations in coercion attitudes exist among examined countries.
• Further education on coercive interventions is necessary for nurses to protect patient rights and reduce harm.