Abstract
The authors interviewed adult civil commitment excandidates about their perceptions of commitment six months after discharge. Scales were developed for the following constructs: perceived need of commitment, perceived personal consequences of commitment, view of medication, view of primary hospital physician, and view of hospital experience. Excandidates had a mixed view of commitment. The majority reported positive views, but a substantial minority endorsed negative descriptors.
Footnotes
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Dr. Edelsohn is assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Department of Mental Hygiene, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD. Dr. Edelsohn was formerly a Preventive Medicine Fellow at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, during the initial data collection. Dr. Hiday is professor of sociology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC. Address reprint requests to: Dr. Gail A. Edelsohn, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, CMSC 346, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205.
- Copyright © 1990, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
