Background: Psychiatric hospitalization of children and adolescents can be carried out either voluntarily or involuntarily. The aim of this form of inpatient hospitalization is to provide treatment for those who cannot manage the symptoms of their mental illnesses on their own. However, psychiatric hospitalizations of children and adolescents are costly and could lead to outcomes such as worsened mental state in former patients and distrust of the system in caregivers. It is crucial to have a solid understanding of specific components that lead to the hospitalization. Purpose: To identify potential trends in patient admission data through the analysis of admission characteristics in children and adolescents placed under involuntary and voluntary status in a psychiatric facility. Methods: An extensive literature review was conducted using the CINAHL, MEDLINE, and APA PsycINFO databases. Articles that were eligible for inclusion in this review of literature were those written in English, published from 2000-2024, and contained a population of subjects aged 3-17. A total of nine articles were utilized for the review after the search was completed. Results: Of the nine articles, a majority of them found correlations between involuntary admission and psychotic symptoms and disorders, manic behaviors, older age, female gender, and psychosocial burden. As for voluntary admission, behavioral or mood disorders, symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts, and younger age were found to be primary contributing factors. Conclusion: More research should be completed on patient demographics that are lesser noted, such as sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity, in order to enhance the quality of care children and adolescents receive under inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Additionally, with the identification of these trends related to legal placement status, future research should be conducted on long-term outcomes of and satisfaction with psychiatric hospitalization in former patients with the aforementioned demographics.

Inequality of power between the global North and the global South are negative aspects of globalisation, leading to increasing inequalities, disregard of human rights and impeding human development. Voluntary work is considered to play an important role in the local and global enforcement of human rights. This dissertation focuses on the importance of voluntary civic engagement in the social justice sector. An empirical study was carried out on the basis of qualitative research among German volunteers of the human rights NGO International Justic Mission (IJM) Deutschland in order to identify motivating factors that contribute to civic engagement. Social justice, the concept of IJM and faith were identified as most important motives. The opportunity of flexible, self-determined involvement and the provision of good support foster volunteer engagement. The study helps human rights NGOs to gain a deeper understanding of how volunteering for human rights can be encouraged. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)