How group climate in forensic and secured mental health is related to patients’ treatment motivation

Abstract

ABSTRACT Motivation is an important factor for successful treatment. Unvoluntary treatment conditions forced by law influence motivation negatively. To optimise motivation in these settings, this study aimed to examine whether group climate (GC) is related to motivation and whether the fulfilment of the basic psychological needs (BPN) as described in the Self Determination Theory (SDT) might explain this relationship. Participants (n = 60) were inpatients from two forensic and one secured mental health-care unit. Participants completed questionnaires including GC, BPN, and motivation scales. Demographic information was collected in their personal files. Correlation analyses showed that there was more treatment motivation when participants perceived a chance to learn (GC ‘growth’(r = .27, p < .05)) and perceived flexibility and fairness (GC ‘repression’ (r = .30, p < .05)). The results showed insufficient support for BPN as mediators. However, autonomy did correlate significantly with both growth (r = .50, p < .01) and repression (r = .27, p < .05), as well as motivation (r = .47, p < .01). These results imply that creating prospect, hope for the future, using fair rules and be autonomy-supportive are important factors to pay attention to in reaching optimal motivation in these difficult treatment settings.