State hospitals' responses to the sexual behavior of psychiatric inpatients.

To determine state psychiatric hospitals' responses to sexual behavior among inpatients, the authors sent a questionnaire to the directors of 86 state facilities. Eighty-eight percent of the 57 respondents considered sexual behavior to be a clinical problem. Most had a policy addressing sexual activities among patients, and 75 percent had psychoeducational programs. Although most of the hospitals that responded to the survey recognized the clinical and ethical issues associated with patients' sexuality, greater acknowledgement of these issues and sharing of information could promote the formulation of broader regional or national guidelines.