Attitudes towards psychiatric hospitalisation: a comparison of involuntary and voluntary patients.

Objective: To determine the attitudes towards hospitalisation of both voluntary and involuntary patients admitted to a state psychiatric hospital.

Method: Interviews of 100 patients admitted consecutively between September 1983 and June 1984.

Results: Although patients who were involuntarily admitted initially reported unfavourable attitudes, subsequent to admission they had similar opinions regarding their hospitalisation to those of voluntary patients. This "consumer survey" lends some confidence to the view that compulsory detention and admission is not irrevocably perceived as punitive by patients. These results provide further data which counter the sometimes extreme advocates of the view that compulsory admission and treatment of patients with psychiatric illness is never acceptable.