To explore the specificity of criteria for civil commitment for
dangerousness, the authors examined the relationship between civil
commitment for dangerousness to others under the California Civil
Commitment Statute (the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act) and violent acts and
behavioral ratings made immediately after commitment. Using a prospective
design they evaluated 84 subjects. The ratings of violent acts for subjects
considered dangerous to others were no different than those of a
nondangerous control group. The subjects considered dangerous to others,
however, differed on several subscales of the Brief Psychiatric Rating
Scale. The authors discuss the implications of these results for civil
commitment proceedings.Abstract Teaser