The arrest rates of nearly 2,000 psychiatric patients released from
psychiatric centers in 1968 and those of nearly 2,000 patients released in
1975 were compared with the arrest rates of a group of 5,000 patients
studied 25 years earlier. In general, arrest rates among the two recent
samples were considerably higher than general population rates, primarily
because of the large proportion of patients previously arrested. Other
characteristics related to subsequent arrest were age and admitting
diagnosis. One additional finding was that the number of patients with
prior arrests had increased markedly over the years.Abstract Teaser