Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine logoLink to The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine
. 1990 Jul-Aug;63(4):301–312.

Psychiatrically hospitalized children: a critical review.

L Scahill 1, M A Riddle 1
PMCID: PMC2589204  PMID: 2275220

Abstract

The high cost of inpatient hospitalization and the rise in the number of private psychiatric beds for children and adolescents prompt several questions about who is using these services. To examine these issues, a review focusing on the use of psychiatric inpatient services by children was undertaken. The history of inpatient care of children is briefly outlined, recent public policies contributing to the rise in the number of psychiatric beds are considered, and findings from available studies are reviewed. We conclude that the data base is inadequate to draw many conclusions about who is using child psychiatric inpatient services. There appear, however, to be important differences in use of inpatient services according to age and perhaps by institutional type and geographic region. Suggestions for future research and some of the social policy implications are discussed as well.

Full text

PDF
303

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alessi N. E., Magen J. Comorbidity of other psychiatric disturbances in depressed, psychiatrically hospitalized children. Am J Psychiatry. 1988 Dec;145(12):1582–1584. doi: 10.1176/ajp.145.12.1582. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Berlin I. N. Developmental issues in the psychiatric hospitalization of children. Am J Psychiatry. 1978 Sep;135(9):1044–1048. doi: 10.1176/ajp.135.9.1044. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Blinder B. J., Young W. M., Fineman K. R., Miller S. J. The children's psychiatric hospital unit in the community: I. Concept and development. Am J Psychiatry. 1978 Jul;135(7):848–851. doi: 10.1176/ajp.135.7.848. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cantwell D. P., Baker L. Issues in the classification of child and adolescent psychopathology. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1988 Sep;27(5):521–533. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198809000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Christ A. E., Tsemberis S., Andrews H. Childhood disorder DRG: consideration for a predictive model. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1989 Jan;28(1):47–52. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198901000-00009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cohen N. J., Davine M., Meloche-Kelly M. Prevalence of unsuspected language disorders in a child psychiatric population. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1989 Jan;28(1):107–111. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198901000-00020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cyr J. J., Haley G. A. Use of demographic and clinical characteristics in predicting length of psychiatric hospital stay: a final evaluation. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1983 Aug;51(4):637–640. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.51.4.637. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dalton R., Bolding D. D., Woods J., Daruna J. H. Short-term psychiatric hospitalization of children. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1987 Sep;38(9):973–976. doi: 10.1176/ps.38.9.973. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Doherty M. B., Manderson M., Carter-Ake L. Time-limited psychiatric hospitalization of children: a model and three-year outcome. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1987 Jun;38(6):643–647. doi: 10.1176/ps.38.6.643. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Forness S. R., Sinclair E., Alexson J., Seraydarian A., Garza M. Toward diagnostic related groups in child psychiatry: a preliminary study. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1985 May;24(3):266–272. doi: 10.1016/s0002-7138(09)61086-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Goldberg R. J., Fogel B. S. Integration of general hospital psychiatric services with freestanding psychiatric hospitals. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1989 Oct;40(10):1057–1061. doi: 10.1176/ps.40.10.1057. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Gualtieri C. T., Koriath U., Van Bourgondien M., Saleeby N. Language disorders in children referred for psychiatric services. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1983 Mar;22(2):165–171. doi: 10.1016/s0002-7138(09)62330-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jemerin J. M., Philips I. Changes in inpatient child psychiatry: consequences and recommendations. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1988 Jul;27(4):397–403. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198807000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kashani J. H., Cantwell D. P. Characteristics of children admitted to inpatient community mental health center. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1983 Apr;40(4):397–400. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1983.01790040051007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Looney J. G. Treatment planning in child psychiatry. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1984 Sep;23(5):529–536. doi: 10.1016/s0002-7138(09)60343-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Margolis J. A., McDermott J. F., Jr, Vaughan W. T., Jr Residential treatment centers: peer review by APA and CHAMPUS. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1984 May;35(5):482–486. doi: 10.1176/ps.35.5.482. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Nurcombe B. Goal-directed treatment planning and the principles of brief hospitalization. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1989 Jan;28(1):26–30. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198901000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Offord D. R. Child psychiatric disorders: prevalence and perspectives. Psychiatr Clin North Am. 1985 Dec;8(4):637–652. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Perry J. C., Klerman G. L. Clinical features of the borderline personality disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1980 Feb;137(2):165–173. doi: 10.1176/ajp.137.2.165. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Pfeffer C. R., Plutchik R., Mizruchi M. S., Lipkins R. Suicidal behavior in child psychiatric inpatients and outpatients and in nonpatients. Am J Psychiatry. 1986 Jun;143(6):733–738. doi: 10.1176/ajp.143.6.733. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Rafferty F. T., Philips I. Resolved: child and adolescent psychiatric practice in the twenty-first century will largely be hospital based. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1988 Nov;27(6):815–818. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198811000-00028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Rapoport J. L. The neurobiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. JAMA. 1988 Nov 18;260(19):2888–2890. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Riddle M. A. Research on a children's psychiatric inpatient service. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1989 Jan;28(1):42–46. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198901000-00008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Schlesinger M., Dorwart R. Ownership and mental-health services. A reappraisal of the shift toward privately owned facilities. N Engl J Med. 1984 Oct 11;311(15):959–965. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198410113111506. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Schwartz I. M. Hospitalization of adolescents for psychiatric and substance abuse treatment. Legal and ethical issues. J Adolesc Health Care. 1989 Nov;10(6):473–478. doi: 10.1016/0197-0070(89)90009-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Shafii M., McCue A., Ice J. F., Schwab J. J. The development of an acute short-term inpatient child psychiatric setting: a pediatric-psychiatric model. Am J Psychiatry. 1979 Apr;136(4A):427–429. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Spitzer R. L., Cantwell D. P. The DSM-III classification of the psychiatric disorders of infancy, childhood, and adolescence. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry. 1980 Summer;19(3):356–370. doi: 10.1016/s0002-7138(09)61059-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Stickney S. B. Schools are our community mental health centers. Am J Psychiatry. 1968 Apr;124(10):1407–1414. doi: 10.1176/ajp.124.10.1407. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Thompson J. D. DRG prepayment: its purpose and performance. Bull N Y Acad Med. 1988 Jan-Feb;64(1):28–51. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Wallen J., Pincus H. A. Care of children with psychiatric disorders at community hospitals. Hosp Community Psychiatry. 1988 Feb;39(2):167–172. doi: 10.1176/ps.39.2.167. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Weithorn L. A. Mental hospitalization of troublesome youth: an analysis of skyrocketing admission rates. Stanford Law Rev. 1988 Feb;40(3):773–838. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Woolston J. L., Rosenthal S. L., Riddle M. A., Sparrow S. S., Cicchetti D., Zimmerman L. D. Childhood comorbidity of anxiety/affective disorders and behavior disorders. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1989 Sep;28(5):707–713. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198909000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Zametkin A. J., Rapoport J. L. Neurobiology of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity: where have we come in 50 years? J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1987 Sep;26(5):676–686. doi: 10.1097/00004583-198709000-00011. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine are provided here courtesy of Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine

RESOURCES