title: Section 136 and African/Afro-Caribbean minorities.
abstract: Social, demographic and clinical information was collected retrospectively on all 99 people referred to a South London hospital in 1986 under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act (1983), this being the last complete year before local changes in the procedure for assessment of Section 136 cases were initiated. An over-representation of Afro-Caribbeans was confirmed and this seemed to be accounted for largely by young men under the age of 30 who with Africans had very high rates of previous Section 136 referral, were more likely to be perceived as threatening, incoherent and disturbed but less clearly diagnosed with a mental illness, and were more likely than the Caucasian sample to be living in stable accommodation. The implications of these results are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Springfield University Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pipe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hampstead
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014900:West Indies / Q000208:ethnology