Release From a Maximum Security Psychiatric Institution

A stepwise regression analysis was used to predict length of stay in a maximum security psychiatric institution from 14 clinical and demographic variables. Two groups were studied separately: a cross sectional group of 181 men who were potentially eligible for release to a less secure setting and a group discharged to a less secure setting (N = 94). It was predicted that an admission offense of homicide, a diagnosis of personality disorder, and a younger age on admission would be positively correlated with length of stay because these variables are related to perceived dangerousness. In the cross sectional group, education was the best predictor (r = -.26), followed by age on admission, and an offense of homicide. In the discharge group, an offense of murder was the best predictor (r = .40), followed by a diagnosis of retardation. The reasons for the relationship between length of stay and both years of education and a diagnosis of retardation are at present obscure but are probably not related to the patients' perceived dangerousness.