Sex status, mental health referral processes, and involuntary disposition

This paper investigates the relationship between sex status, community referral sources, and determination of voluntary or involuntary disposition. The relationship between sex status and involuntary disposition is made primarily through significant differences in community living arrangements associated with different referral sources. Males are more likely to be living in more institutional settings which are linked to more distant referral sources; females are more likely to remain in private living settings and to be referred by close sources. These differences in ecological location within the community are linked to disposition as voluntary treatment or involuntary detention. It is suggested that the criteria of reform legislation tightening procedures for involuntary disposition are more descriptive of the status of socially marginal and economically indigent males.