Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Barragan, Armando Jr

Abstract

This study aims to better understand adolescent psychiatric hospitalization regarding the use of coercion at the hands of clinical staff from the perspectives of former hospital staff and former patients' family members. This study was conducted from a critical theory perspective. The researcher surveyed a total of fourteen former staff members and former patients' family members. This research study emphasized quantitative data as the way data was collected. The methods utilized to gather data were online surveys that were collected through Qualtrics and further analyzed using SPSS statistic data editor. The findings of this study showed that 25% of former staff participants had a good to excellent experience working in a psychiatric hospital and 75% of former staff participants had poor to average experience. In addition, both former patient family members showed they experienced average to good overall experience. These percentages showed that a higher percentage of participants had a probability of reporting things such as lower work or treatment satisfaction, witnessing mistreatment towards patients, witnessing other hospital staff use seclusion, confinement, or medications because the adolescent patient was not following hospital’s rules. The findings can help social workers understand what type of policy changes are necessary to ensure that there is no room for punishment or coercion towards the youth population. Furthermore, this study can help social workers to better advocate for the mental health and needs of their patients. Lastly, this study can give youth the knowledge to self-advocate.

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