The admissions process in two state psychiatric hospitals.

In this study, a conceptual model of the factors influencing the admissions process was tested in two state psychiatric hospitals. The factors included in the model fell into four categories: characteristics of patients, characteristics of admitting personnel, system factors, and patient assessment. The attitudes of individuals accompanying an applicant were found to be most important. Patients referred by police, courts, family, friends, or agency personnel were more likely to be admitted than self-referrals. Pathological behaviors that had a significant impact on the admissions process were those that indicated the presence of mental disorder or danger to self or others. The availability of alternatives to hospitalization was not found to be significant, a finding that suggests that admitting personnel, particularly psychiatrists, should be educated about community alternatives if spiraling rates of psychiatric admission are to be reduced.