Citation

Werth JL. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2001; 31(3): 348-357.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, The University of Akron, OH 44325-4301, USA. JWerth@uakron.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11577919

Abstract

The civil commitment statutes of all 50 states and the District of Columbia were reviewed to determine: (1) What is required for a person who is believed to be at serious and imminent risk of self-harm to be eligible for involuntary hospitalization; and (2) Whether an attempt to involuntarily hospitalize was required or was merely an option when the requirements found in number 1 were met. The analysis revealed that nearly 85% of the jurisdictions require dangerousness to self to be the result of a mental illness, and only two jurisdictions mandate attempts at involuntary commitment if a person is deemed to be an imminent harm to self. These results have implications for practice with individuals who are suicidal.