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Profile of Mentally Disordered Offenders Admitted to Inpatient Psychiatric Services in the United States

NCJ Number
110174
Journal
Law and Human Behavior Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1988) Pages: 91-99
Author(s)
H J Steadman; M J Rosenstein; R L MacAskill; R W Manderscheid
Date Published
1988
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This research note presents data on mentally disordered offenders (MDO's) treated in inpatient psychiatric services.
Abstract
The surveys of admissions to the inpatient psychiatric services of State and county mental hospitals and private psychiatric hospitals were conducted in collaboration with the State mental health agencies during the period July 1980 to October 1980. The survey of discharges from the separate inpatient psychiatric services of non-Federal general hospitals was conducted during February 1981 by the American Hospital Association. A total of 31,773 MDO's were admitted, with 85 percent going to State and county mental hospitals. The largest group, including admissions for evaluation, consisted of persons incompetent to stand trial (58 percent), followed by mentally disordered prisoners (32 percent), persons found not guilty by reason of insanity (8 percent), and mentally disordered sex offenders (3 percent). Women and whites tended to be overrepresented among MDO's as compared to prison and jail inmates. Clear diagnostic differences by legal status were found, with schizophrenia predominant among persons not guilty by reason of insanity (81 percent) and alcohol and drug abuse disorders more frequent among persons incompetent to stand trial. Overall, State and county hospitals were the primary locus of care for mentally disordered offenders in both 1967 and 1980. 4 tables and 13 references. (Author abstract modified)