Massachusetts civil commitment criteria were compared in an emergency
setting with a set of criteria developed by Dr. Alan Stone. Contrary to
expectations, the Stone criteria proved to be more restrictive in a sample
of 503 patients. Few patients would be newly committable under the Stone
criteria; of the 35 patients committable under the Stone standard, 32 also
met the current Massachusetts criteria for commitment. The clinical and
policy implications of the adoption of the Stone criteria are
discussed.
Abstract Teaser