Predicting hospital adjustment by adolescent inpatients

Data about 145 adolescent inpatients were used to examine the relationship between past patterns of aggressive behavior and behavior during the initial period of psychiatric hospitalization. During their first month in the hospital, adolescents with a history of externally directed aggression were more likely to present management problems, compared with adolescents without this history. Adolescents with a history of internally directed aggression were more likely to be self-destructive. However, no association was found between adolescents' preadmission patterns of aggression and the likelihood that they would experience depressive symptoms in the hospital. Associations were found between adolescents' patterns of aggression and diagnoses. The authors suggest strategies to enhance treatment of adolescents with various patterns of aggression during the initial phase of hospitalization.