Exploring and explaining involuntary care: The relationship between psychiatric admission status, gender and other demographic and clinical variables

Involuntary admission and treatment are features of psychiatric care in many countries, but the relationship between involuntary status and gender (among other factors) is not clear. We examined demographic and diagnostic factors associated with involuntary admission in a general adult psychiatry service in a deprived area of Dublin's north inner-city over a 7-year period (2008 to 2014 inclusive). Over this period, there were 1099 admissions, yielding an annual admission rate of 504.8 admissions per 100,000 population per year. When adjusted for deprivation, this rate (387.7) was lower than the national rate (413.9). Consistent with other inner-city areas in Dublin, 14.1% of admissions were involuntary, yielding an involuntary admission rate of 71.2 per 100,000 population per year (deprivation-adjusted rate: 54.8), which is higher than the national rate (39.4). After controlling for age, occupation, marital status and diagnosis, the only independent predictors of admission status were place of origin (p < 0.001) and male gender (p = 0.001). These findings are consistent with studies showing associations between male gender and involuntary status in the United States, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. In contrast, female gender is associated with involuntary status in Switzerland, Brazil, and China. These cross-national differences are likely related to differing legal traditions and different criteria for involuntary admission, possibly related to varying emphases placed on “dangerousness” as a mandatory criterion for involuntary hospitalization. This merits further, cross-national study.