The role of race in diagnostic and disposition decision making in a pediatric psychiatric emergency service

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the influence of race/ethnicity in diagnostic and disposition decision-making for children and adolescents presenting to an urban psychiatric emergency service (PES). Method: Medical records were reviewed for 2991 child and adolescent African-American, Hispanic/Latino and white patients, treated in an urban PES between October 2001 and September 2002. A series of bivariate and binomial logistic regression analyses were used to delineate the role of race in the patterns and correlates of psychiatric diagnostic and treatment disposition decisions. Results: Binomial logistic regression analyses reveal that African-American (OR=2.28, P