voluntary admission

admission of a patient to a psychiatric hospital or other inpatient unit at his or her own request, without coercion. Such hospitalization can end whenever the patient sees fit, unlike involuntary hospitalization, the length of which is determined by a court or the hospital. Also called voluntary commitment; voluntary hospitalization.

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Psychology term of the day

July 27th 2024

trinucleotide repeat

a contiguous repetition of the same three nucleotides within a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA). The occurrence of extra trinucleotide repeats in certain genes causes dysfunction, inluding Huntington’s disease and fragile X syndrome.