Pediatric referrals to psychiatry: I. Comparison of referrals and nonreferrals

Age, sex and duration of hospital stay of 220 patients consecutively referred to psychiatry (Group I) and of their fellow 2065 nonreferred patients (Group II) were compared. Overall, Group I was significantly older, remained in hospital longer, and included more girls than boys, whereas Group II included slightly more boys than girls. Separation of Group II into those whose primary discharge diagnosis was psychiatric or nonpsychiatric revealed that mean age and duration of hospital stay of the former were almost identical, and the sex distribution was similar, to those of Group I. These findings suggest that children referred for psychiatric evaluation differ from their nonreferred fellows discharged with a nonpsychiatric diagnosis but not from nonreferred fellows discharged with a psychiatric diagnosis.