Patient, Parent, and Staff Attitudes toward Allowing Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients to Smoke

Abstract

A smoking attitude survey was developed and administered to adolescent patients, parents, and staff members at a psychiatric hospital for adolescents 6 months before and 6 months after the institution of a patient smoking ban. Attitudes before the ban were significantly more favorable toward allowing patient smoking than attitudes after the ban; smokers were significantly more in favor of allowing patient smoking than nonsmokers; and patients were significantly more in favor of allowing patient smoking than parents, who were significantly more in favor of allowing patient smoking than staff (overall ps less than 0.0001; post-hoc ps less than 0.05). The findings support the feasibility of implementing smoking bans in adolescent inpatient facilities.