ARE DIFFERENTIAL DISCHARGE CRITERIA USED FOR MEN AND WOMEN PSYCHIATRIC-INPATIENTS

Following several recent reports of possible sex role stereotyping by psychiatric practitioners, this paper examined whether men or women short-term inpatients were rated as sicker or healthier across time by their therapeutic community staff, and whether ratings of psychopathology were related similarly to outcome of hospitalization for these men and women patients. Results indicated that women patients were rated as becoming significantly healthier over time in comparison with men. However, for the women patients, staff ratings of global psychopathology were not significantly related to type of referral recommendation made by their treatment team following their course of short-term hospitalization. In contrast, such ratings were highly related to type of recommendation made for the men patients. As a group, women who were referred for further hospitalization received ratings which were similar to those ratings received by men and by women for whom a discharge recommendation was made. But women who were referred to further hospitalization were more frequently single, unemployed, and younger than women who were discharged. Marital and employment status were unrelated to type of referral recommendation received by the men patients.