PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Levin, Shelley
AU  - Brekke, John S.
AU  - Thomas, Philip
TI  - A Controlled Comparison of Involuntarily Hospitalized Medication Refusers and Acceptors
DP  - 1991 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 161--171
VI  - 19
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/19/2/161.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/19/2/161.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law1991 Jun 01; 19
AB  - Involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric patients consecutively admitted over a six-month period who successfully refused medication (n = 37) are compared with a randomly selected group of medication-accepting patients committed during the same time period (n = 37). The overall refusal rate was 15.6 percent during the study period. Acceptors and refusers did not differ on age, sex, diagnosis, ethnicity, marital status, or preadmission living status. Differences between the groups indicate that refusers are sicker and lower functioning, are more behaviorally acute on the ward, and stay in the hospital twice as long as acceptors. Refusers also have a significantly negative impact on the overall ward milieu. The impact of institutional factors on the rate and outcome from medication refusal are discussed.