Perceived coercion and its determinants at psychiatric admission – are there sex specific patterns?

Background

To investigate determinants for perceived coercion during the admission process among voluntarily and involuntarily admitted psychiatric patients, with special focus on sex-specific patterns.

Methods

Patients (n = 282) were interviewed using the Nordic Admission Interview (NorAI), including the MacArthur Perceived Coercion Scale (MPCS) and the Coercion Ladder (CL).

Results

A higher proportion of women reported perceived coercion on the MPCS; however, this was only significant among those admitted involuntarily. Legal admission status was decisive for perceived coercion, except according to the CL for men. Other determinants were whether a patient admitted involuntary felt offended (for women on the CL, for men on the MPCS), suicide attempt (for women on the MPCS), transport to hospital by the police (for men on the CL), whether a patient felt that he or she was not treated kindly (for women admitted voluntarily, both scales) and negative pressure (for both sexes, both scales).

Conclusion

Perceived coercion and its determinants are to some extent sex-specific. MPCS and CL seem to measure different aspects of perceived coercion.