The authors respectively reviewed their records from 100 visits by adolescents and 100 visits by adults chosen by random sampling from all adolescent and adult patients seen during !July 1984 and July 1987 in the emergency room of Chung-Ang University, Yong-San Hospital. Chi-square statistics were calculated with Yates´ correction.
The results were as follows:
1. Adolescent patients were tended to be more likely than adults to have been referred by friends.
2. Adolescent patients were more likely than adults to have visited emergency room´ promptly after symptom onset, and less likely to have insight about one´s mental illness. Adolescents were less likely to receive neuropsychiatric out-patient treatment plan, in spite of psychiatrist´s recommendation, because of low insight level.
3. With regard to their symptoms and chief complaints, adolescent patients more often. reported anger, aggressive behavior and suicide attempts, while adults were more likely to have been suicide idea.
4. The precipitant for the current visit was more likely to have been extra-familial difficulties including academic problem and bad relationship with peer groups for adolescents and intrafamilial problems such as loss of loved person and primary interpersonal relation difficulties for adults.
5. Both groups were more likely to be diagnosed as suffering from somatization disorder. Adult patients were more likely than adolescents to be diagnosed as affective disorder, especially atypical depression.
6. Both groups frequently abused some substances, with adolescents tending to use drugs and adults tending to use alcohol.
In conclusion, adolescent patients coming to the emergency room had acute and serious pathology, because anger, aggressive behavior, self-destructive behavior and suicide attempts were expressed vividly and explosively.
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