Involuntary hospitalization and police referrals to a psychiatric emergency department.
L. W. Reinish and J. R. Ciccone,
Bull. Amer. Acad. Psychiatry & the Law
23(2): 289-98, 1995.
This study compares the demographic and clinical characteristics of police referrals with referrals
from other sources to the psychiatric emergency department of a university hospital and the
demographic and clinical characteristics of police referrals who were involuntary hospitalized with
police referrals who were discharged from the emergency department (ED). In our study, 182 cases
were seen in the psychiatric ED over the one-month period; 32 (17.6%) were police referrals. Police
referrals were not more frequently hospitalized than referrals from other sources. Police referrals
were, however, more likely to have been violent towards others preceding admission (59.4% versus
20.0%; chi 2 = 20.8; df = 1; p < .01) and to be intoxicated on presentation (31.3% versus 10.7%;
chi
2 = 91; df = 1; p < .01). Police referrals also were significantly more likely to be violent in the
psychiatric ED than referrals from other sources (37.5% versus 3.4%, chi 2 = 36.5, df = 1, p < .01)
and to be restrained or secluded (34.4% versus 4.0%; chi 2 = 28.8; df = 1; p < .01). Involuntarily
hospitalized police referrals were significantly more likely to be suffering from a major psychiatric
disorder than police referrals not hospitalized (83.3% versus 11.8%; chi 2 = 14.7; df = 1; p < .01).
They also were significantly more likely to have been violent towards other ED (66.7% versus
23.5%; Fisher test, p < .05) and to have been restrained or secluded in the ED (58.3% versus
23.5%;
Fisher test, p < .05) than police referrals who were not admitted.