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Correlates of Mental Hospital Admission Status
Author(s) -
Jan Leejan,
Miller Kent S.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1982.tb01239.x
Subject(s) - coercion (linguistics) , hospital admission , mental hospital , state hospital , social status , involuntary commitment , legal status , psychiatry , medicine , psychiatric hospital , psychology , mental health , law , political science , philosophy , linguistics
The legal admission status (voluntary v. involuntary) of patients admitted to a state mental hospital was compared with the patients' willingness to enter the hospital, social resources, dangerousness, and management within the hospital. The legal admission status was found to be strongly associated with a willingness to enter, but there is much continued resistance and coercion associated with hospital admission. Indices of social power were not related to legal admission status with the exception that blacks were disproportionately admitted involuntarily. The only significant finding about legal status and judgments of dangerousness was that people judged to be dangerous to self were more frequently admitted as voluntary. Legal status was not significantly related to time prior to gaining ground privileges or discharge from the hospital.