Child psychiatric hospitalization: the last resort

The purpose of this study was to describe how parents manage the experience of hospitalizing their school-aged child in a psychiatric unit. Grounded theory methodology was used. Thirty-eight parents participated. Data were collected by interviews. Analysis was done using the constant comparative method. The basic social problem identified was the escalating behavior of the child. The child's behavior included self-injurious behavior or violence toward others. The core concept was "hospitalization, the last resort." Parents' management of the experience varied based on many factors including whether this was the child's first psychiatric hospitalization, the distance from the hospital to their home, their trust of staff members, sources of support, and their definition of the situation.