Seclusion room vs. physical restraint in an adolescent inpatient setting: patients' attitudes.

Background: The use of physical restraints or a seclusion room for the treatment of adolescents in a psychiatric inpatient setting raises ethical dilemmas. We investigated the attitudes of adolescents towards these two means of confinement.

Method: We used a structured questionnaire to collect data on the attitudes of 50 adolescent patients, hospitalized in a closed psychiatric ward, towards the use of physical restraint versus a seclusion room.