Life satisfaction of patients in forensic psychiatry departments in the context of illness acceptance and clinical and demographic factors

Aim The aim of the study was to assess the level of life satisfaction of forensic psychiatry patients and to identify selected demographic and clinical factors related to life satisfaction, with particular emphasis on illness acceptance. Material and methods The study included 121 patients hospitalized in four forensic psychiatry departments. Life satisfaction was assessed using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and illness acceptance using the Acceptance of Illness Scale (AIS). The relationship between SWLS scores and age and AIS scores was analyzed, as well as differences in SWLS scores based on gender, duration of hospitalization, psychiatric diagnosis, and pharmacotherapy regimen. Spearman’s rank correlation, Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used depending on the type of variables. A nominal significance level of α = 0.05 was adopted. No p-value correction was applied due to multiple testing. Results The mean SWLS score was 19.82 ± 7.50 points. The study group showed varied levels of life satisfaction. After converting the results to the sten scale, 39.7% of participants achieved results corresponding to a low level of life satisfaction, 26.4% - an average level, and 33.9% - a high level. The mean AIS score was 28.06 ± 7.70 points; low level of illness acceptance was found in 10.7% of participants, average in 47.1%, and high in 42.1%. There were no statistically significant differences in SWLS scores depending on gender (p = 0.412), psychiatric diagnosis (p = 0.951), pharmacotherapy regimen (p = 0.930), or duration of hospitalization (p = 0.211). There was no statistically significant correlation between the SWLS score and age (rho Spearman’s ratio = -0.166; p = 0.068). However, a weak positive correlation was observed between the AIS score and the SWLS score (rho Spearman’s α = 0.215; p = 0.018), statistically significant at the nominal level of α = 0.05. Conclusions of life satisfaction were found among the patients included in the study. The largest group consisted of participants classified as low (39.7%), but the differences in numbers between categories did not indicate a clear dominance of one category over the other. In the study group, the most common levels of illness acceptance were medium (47.1%) or high (42.1%). There was no statistically significant correlation between SWLS scores and age, nor were there any statistically significant differences in SWLS scores based on gender, psychiatric diagnosis, pharmacotherapy regimen, or length of hospitalization. However, a weak positive correlation was observed between illness acceptance and life satisfaction, significant at the nominal level of α = 0.05. The cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow for conclusions about a causal relationship between these variables. The results suggest the validity of considering illness acceptance in further studies on life satisfaction in forensic psychiatric patients.