A Year's Experience in Student Mental Health at West Point
RICHARD C. U'REN M.D.1,
FRANCIS E. CONRAD 2, , and
PETER H. PATTERSON 3
1 Director, Psychiatry Outpatient Clinic, University of Oregon Medical School, Portland, Ore. 97201
2 Chief of Mental Hygiene Consultation Service, U.S. Army Hospital, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
3 Chief of Professional Services, U.S. Army Hospital, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.
A one-year study at West Point revealed that most cadets seen in the mental hygiene service did not have symptoms indicative of a major psychiatric illness; many were diagnosed as having adjustment reactions. Similar findings have been reported among students at civilian institutions. However, the cadets had lower rates of self-referrals and diagnoses of personality disorder and higher frequencies of suicide gestures and psychophysiological reactions.
