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Background: There is a growing body of evidence that patients with early psychosis have undesirable pathways to care, yet few studies have explored the factors related to compulsory admission in patients with psychosis. The aim of the present study was to examine the demographic and clinical factors and pathways to care influencing compulsory admission in first-admitted subjects with psychosis., Methods: Pathways to care, clinical and demographic characteristics, were assessed using multiple sources of information in 86 subjects with psychosis first admitted in two hospitals of South-Western France. Characteristics independently associated with compulsory admission were explored using logistic regressions., Results: Nearly two-thirds of the subjects (61.6%) were compulsorily admitted. Compulsory admission was independently predicted by being a male (adjusted OR = 3.2, 95 % CI 1.2-8.6, p = 0.02), having a diagnosis of schizophrenia broadly defined (adjusted OR = 2.8, 95 % CI 1.02-7.4, p = 0.04) and absence of depressive or anxiety symptoms (adjusted OR = 0.05, 95% CI 0.005-0.5, p=0.01)., Conclusion: These results suggest that factors related to the disease itself play an important role in decisions concerning compulsory admission. The high frequency of compulsory admission as the first mode of contact with psychiatric hospital in subjects with psychosis constitutes a major public health issue. Further research on the strategies aimed at avoiding compulsory admission in subjects with incipient psychosis is necessary.