Short-term child psychiatric inpatient treatment. Place of residence as one-year outcome measure.

In this study, 100 patients consecutively admitted to four child psychiatric inpatient wards in Finland were prospectively followed 12 months after discharge from short-term inpatient treatment. It turned out that 50 patients were discharged back to their previous residence and to outpatient treatment, 40 patients were admitted to long-term inpatient treatment and 10 patients were placed in some institution. The child's antisocial behaviour on admission was the strongest determinant for long-term treatment or placement at the 12 month follow-up. Other predictors of long-term treatment or placement in an institution included a high total score in teacher's behaviour ratings, being referred by a psychiatric agency and living in a semi-rural area. No statistically significant relationship was found in the child's age, gender, parents' education level or occupation, family characteristics, total life events, parent's ratings of total behaviour, total life events, parent's ratings of total behaviour, CGAS ratings by a clinician or a wide range of treatment variables.