Which behavior validates the need for involuntary hospitalization?

• A. Beliefs about FBI surveillance
• B. Diagnosis of schizophrenia
• C. Violence towards father
• D. Guarded and suspicious

Answer: (C)

Involuntary hospitalization is prompted by dangerousness to others or an inability to care for oneself due to mental illness. Violent behavior toward a family member demonstrates clear risk of harm to another person, which fits the danger-to-others criterion and supports why involuntary admission would be considered. Merely having delusional beliefs about FBI surveillance shows psychosis, but without evidence of imminent danger, it doesn’t by itself justify commitment. A diagnosis of schizophrenia is a label, not a determination of risk or incapacity. Being guarded and suspicious reflects paranoid symptoms, but alone it doesn’t prove a concrete threat or inability to care for oneself. The presence of violence toward the father is the behavior that indicates a real risk to others, making involuntary hospitalization appropriate in this context.