Deck 7: Civil Commitment

Question 1

According to the text, which of the following increases the risk for violence when examining the relationship between mental illness and violence?

A) Lack of treatment
B) More severe symptoms
C) Co-occurring substance abuse
D) The presence of any mental illness

Answer 1

Co-occurring substance abuse

Question 2

Which of the following is an additional requirement in some but not all) jurisdictions in order to be civilly committed?

A) Mental retardation
B) Need for treatment
C) Lack of social support
D) Commission of violent crime

Answer 2

Need for treatment

Question 3

Which of the following is not a traditional form of outpatient commitment?

A) Conditional release
B) Temporary commitment
C) Preventative commitment
D) Traditional outpatient commitment

Answer 3

Temporary commitment

Question 4

Which of the following is not true regarding psychiatric advance directives?

A) Clinicians have expressed concern over their use
B) Most patients would complete an advance directive if given help
C) They are well known and publicized by mental health professionals
D) Every state in the United States has allowed for some form of their use

Question 5

Which of the following is not a problem associated with civil commitment?

A) The use of legal criteria instead of mental health diagnoses
B) The use of actuarial predictions is more difficult
C) It is easier to predict future dangerousness among civil patients
D) The existence of a hindsight bias after civil commitment of an individual

Question 6

Which of the following is an example of the criminalization of the mentally ill?

A) Passage of laws that make mental illness illegal
B) Using mental illness as an aggravating factor at sentencing
C) Reducing the threshold for dangerousness required for civil commitment
D) Arresting the mentally ill for minor crimes and recommending competency evaluations

Question 7

The most frequent reason for civil commitment under the dangerousness requirement is ______________.

A) murder
B)grave disability
C) physical assault of another
D) a history of suicidal gestures

Question 8

Which of the following is a criticism of outpatient commitment?

A) It deprives people of their freedom
B) It has significantly increased the cost of commitment
C) It places the power in the hands of the person being committed
D) It has increased the number of people commitment dramatically

Question 9

According to Lidz et al. 2000), the most important court of coercion during civil commitment is ___________________________.

A) family
B) friends
C) legal professionals
D) mental health professionals

Question 10

Most jurisdictions that allow for outpatient commitment require the person be found ________________.

A) only dangerous
B) only mentally ill
C) mentally ill and treatable
D) mentally ill and dangerous

Question 11

An extended commitment frequently involves all of the following except ______________.

A) the right to counsel
B) a written notice of a commitment hearing
C) a jury or judge to make the final decision
D) authorization by a single law enforcement officer or mental health professional

Question 12

According to _________________, individuals that are mentally ill are not able to consent to a voluntary admission.

A) Wyatt v. Stickney
B) Zinermon v. Burch
C) Addington v. Texas
D) O'Connor v. Donaldson

Question 13

The number of people committed to public hospitals has ___________________ over the past 50 years.

A) increased slightly
B) remained constant
C) decreased slightly
D) decreased dramatically

Question 14

What percentage of psychiatric patients are involuntarily committed?

A) 7%
B) 30%
C) 43%
D) 78%

Question 15

The __________________ standard proposes that the state's most important legal obligation is to protect society from harmful individuals.

A) mens rea
B) police power
C) parens patriae
D) least restrictive alternative

Question 16

Which of the following is a good example of the legal theory parens patriae?

A) Civil commitment of homeless individuals
B) The emergence of Sexually Violent Predator laws
C) Requiring the least restrictive alternative for civil commitments
D) More coercive interventions for individuals who are civilly committed

Question 17

Which of the following is not normally considered sufficient to fulfill the dangerousness requirement for civil commitment?

A) Need for treatment
B) Evidence of a suicide attempt
C) Evidence of bodily harm to another person
D) Evidence of inability to feed or care for oneself

Question 18

According to the Swartz et al.'s 2001) study of outpatient commitment, _______________.

A) outpatient commitment resulted in a reduction in hospital utilization
B) outpatient commitment did not reduce the likelihood of future violence
C) committed outpatients were readmitted fewer times and for fewer days
D) outpatient commitments increased the satisfaction of staff and patients in regard to quality of life

Question 19

____________________ required that a person not only had to be mentally ill but also dangerous in order to be civilly committed.

A) Humphrey v. Cady
B) Lessard v. Schmidt
C) Addington v. Texas
D)O'Connor v

Question 20

In most jurisdictions the standard of proof for civil commitment is __________________.

A) res ipso facto
B) beyond a reasonable doubt
C) preponderance of the evidence
D) clear and convincing evidence

Question 21

According to Rosenhan's 1973) study, there is a natural tendency to view someone as mentally ill if he is hospitalized or being evaluated for hospitalization. This phenomenon is called ________________.

A) the grave judgment effect
B) hindsight bias
C) the sham effect
D) institutionalized bias

Question 22

________ held that a defendant that was hospitalized after being found incompetent to stand trial may be involuntarily medicated in some circumstances.

A) Wyatt v. Stickney
B) Sell v. United States
C) Riggins v. Nevada
D) Harper v. Washington

Question 23

Which of the following is not a risk factor in suicide assessment?

A) Acute abuse of alcohol
B) Presence of dependents
C) Being of the male gender
D) Family history of suicide

Question 24

In regard to civil commitment hearings, attorneys are typically _________ adversarial than in criminal hearings.

A) less
B) equally as
C) significantly more
D) somewhat more

Question 25

Identify and explain two problems with dangerousness as a criterion for civil commitment.

Question 26

According to the text, the population that is most frequently civilly committed on the basis of a grave disability is: ________________.

A) young persons 21-35)
B) the elderly
C) males
D) females

Question 27

Describe the process of civil commitment.

Question 28

In the 1960's, limitations were placed on the civil commitment process because _____________.

A) treatment was not effective during this time
B) facilities were becoming overcrowded
C) of concerns regarding patients' rights
D) mental health professionals were not trained to make these decisions

Question 29

Which of the following diagnoses found in the DSM would also be considered a mental illness according to most legal definitions?

A) Dementia
B) Substance abuse
C) Intellectual disability disorder
D) Antisocial personality disorder

Question 30

What rights do patients have in regard to refusing treatment?

Question 31

Which of the following is not a potential consequence of coercion on civil commitment discussed in the text?

A) Treatment is less effective
B) Causes poor therapeutic relationships
C) Patients are grateful after receiving treatment
D) Deters patients from seeking out voluntary treatment

Question 32

What is the burden of proof and standard of proof in cases of civil commitment?

Question 33

Which type of outpatient commitment is the most controversial?

A) Traditional outpatient commitment
B) Preventative commitment
C) Conditional release
D) They are equally controversial.

Question 34

Which of the following is not a difficulty related to the use of mental health advanced directives?

A) Mental health advanced directives can result in refusals of care.
B) Hospital staff often ignore mental health advanced directives
C) Patients are largely unaware of mental health advanced directives.
D) Hospital staff is largely unaware of mental health advanced directives.

Question 35

Identify and explain three problems with mental illness as a criterion for civil commitment.