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 vs. a seclusion room. Results: Seventy per cent of the participants in the study preferred seclusion in the seclusion room over bed restraint, whereas 22% preferred physical restraint. Eighty-two percent described seclusion in the seclusion room as less frightening than restraint. Seventy-four per cent reported that seclusion in the seclusion room improved their mental state to a larger extent than restraint. The inpatient adolescents reported feeling the time they needed to reach a state of calm was shorter when they were confined to the seclusion room than when they were physically restrained (p<0.001). Conclusions: The use of a seclusion room may be preferable compared to physical restraint for inpatient adolescents.