Loading…

Family planning needs and STD risk behaviours of female psychiatric out-patients

There are few studies concerning the family planning needs of female chronic psychiatric patients. We aimed to determine the contraceptive needs and sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk-behaviours of female psychiatric out-patients. Sixty-six female out-patients with major psychiatric disorders,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 1997-07, Vol.171 (1), p.69-72
Main Authors: Coverdale, John H., Turbott, Sarah H., Roberts, Helen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:There are few studies concerning the family planning needs of female chronic psychiatric patients. We aimed to determine the contraceptive needs and sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk-behaviours of female psychiatric out-patients. Sixty-six female out-patients with major psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and mood disorders, completed a semi-structured interview (response rate = 63%) and were individually matched for age and ethnicity with 66 women who had never been treated for psychiatric illness. They answered questions on child-rearing and on their methods of contraception in relation to their attitudes towards pregnancy, as well as on their risk for STDs. Compared with controls, the female patients reported having had significantly more induced abortions and were significantly more likely to have given up their own children for others to raise. Heterosexually active psychiatric patients were significantly more likely than controls to have had more than one male sexual partner, to have been pressured into unwanted sexual intercourse, and to report having had sexual intercourse with a suspected bisexual over the preceding year. These results underscore the priority for developing programmes that reduce female psychiatric patients' risk for unwanted pregnancies and STDs.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.171.1.69