Coercive Practices and Psychosocial Disability in People with Suicide Attempts in a Latin American Population

Abstract

Despite the human rights approach given in public mental health policies, coercive practices persist in many mental health services. These practices tend to be more frequent in people with suicide attempts, which increases psychosocial disability and affects recovery. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between variables associated with psychosocial disability and coercive practices in people with suicide attempts who attended emergency services in a Colombian context. A quantitative, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted, with instruments that determined psychosocial disability, subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, resilience, loneliness, continuity of care in health services and the use of coercive practices, such as physical restraint, seclusion, involuntary sedation, being ignored by health personnel and not participating in the treatment plan. Multiple linear regression analysis explained 40.1% of the variance in psychosocial disability. When comparing scores on the resilience, subjective well-being, psychosocial disability and loneliness scales, statistically significant differences (<.001) were found between people who experienced coercive practices and those who did not. A negative impact of coercive practices on people with suicidal behavior was found, such as an increase in depressive symptoms, reduction of resilience and subjective well-being scores and a worse perception of health services.