Civil commitment standards and patient mix in England/Wales, Italy, and the United States.
Although England/Wales, Italy, and the United States share a common policy of deinstitutionalization, their mental health systems differ considerably. Each country's civil commitment standards define patient eligibility criteria along one of two primary dimensions--need for treatment or degree of dangerousness. These differential selection criteria result in mental health systems serving different subgroups of the total population. The criteria in England/Wales target older women; in the United States, younger men; and in Italy, a group balanced in age and sex. Implications for the current debate on civil commitment policies are considered.
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Mental Health and Social Welfare Research Group, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003134:Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000639:trends; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors; D014218:Triage; D014481:United States; D014852:Wales