An analysis of the 'voluntariness' of mental patients in Massachusetts
Description:
An analysis of a survey taken to gather information on persons admitted to mental facilities, specifically Northampton State Hospital, under both temporary involuntary commitment procedure and the voluntary commitment procedure. The overall objective was to evaluate both whether those persons admitted to Northampton State Hospital require hospitalization and whether the legal status of 'voluntary' was an accurate indicator of a person's actual desire to be in the hospital. They asked various questions, such as, who brought you to the hospital, did you sign a voluntary form, did you know what it meant when you signed a voluntary form, did you sign a voluntary form even though you were there involuntarily, etc. It determined that most patients were there involuntarily, even if they signed a voluntary form.
Requests to publish, redistribute, or replicate this material should be addressed to Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.
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