A Comparison of Studies From the United States and Western Europe on Psychiatric Hospitalization Referrals for Youths Exhibiting Suicidal Behavior

A comprehensive literature review compared the rates of adolescent suicide-behaviour based referrals from emergency room to psychiatric inpatient facilities in the United States & in western Europe. The major findings were: youths at both geographical locations who were seen in emergency rooms were very similar in age & gender; a median of 39% of youths seen in American emergency rooms were referred for inpatient psychiatric treatment, in western Europe the median was 12%; in the USA, suicidal youths referred for inpatient psychiatric care were predominantly female & mainly mid-adolescent in age compared to western Europe where the majority of youths referred for psychiatric hospitalization were male & in their late adolescent years. It is speculated that differences in referral patterns are due to differences in malpractice patterns, academic perspectives, & medical care financing. (142 refs.)