Citation

Thompson JS, Ager JW. Behav. Sci. Law 1988; 6(1): 119-129.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2370060109

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Legal and nonlegal factors influencing the civil commitment recommendations of psychologists and psychiatrists separately and as a whole were investigated using an experimental design. One hundred and seventy-six psychologists and psychiatrists made recommendations for or against commitment for a series of clinical vignettes wherein the five facets of commitment criterion, legal committability, clinical treatability, alternative resources and presence of psychosis were systematically varied.

RESULTS revealed that all facets contributed independently and in combination to the commitment decisions of participants as a whole. It was concluded that mental health professionals may utilize a variety of types of information, beyond the relevant legal criteria, in making actual decisions to initiate civil commitments.

Language: en