Study participants were all residents of a New York City shelter for homeless men. In addition, they were enrolled in an onsite day treatment program. Of 30 subjects studied, 13 had affective disorders, 14 had schizophrenic disorders, and seven had other disorders. Each subject was interviewed alone for a 30-minute period and was asked to relay his ER's. Subjects recounted 90 ER's and 65 crimes. The ER's were mostly negative in nature, reflecting the extent of subjects' present crises and their early living situations. With negative ER's, such as those involving conflict, loneliness, defiance of authority, or victimization, there was a 76-percent chance that subjects would also be convicted of crimes. Of those convicted, 92 percent also reported negative ER's. 22 references and 4 tables