Unexpected outcomes of childhood psychiatric hospitalization

This article describes an aspect of a larger study of the experiences, outcomes, and consequences of hospitalization during the years that constitute the "for-profit psychiatric hospital scandal" in Texas. Specifically, this article is concerned with patients who were children during 1985-1991. The author presents a case study of one such patient, followed by discussion of perceived outcomes as well as the long-term professional, economic, and policy sequelae of questionable psychiatric hospitalization. Questions are also raised as to the implications of applying a purely marketplace orientation to the care of society's most vulnerable individuals.