Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:744-749
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
A method for quantifying and comparing civil commitment processes
LR Faulkner, BH McFarland, JD Bloom and TO Stern
The authors present a three-step civil commitment model and formulas for
calculating 1) the probability of release from the commitment process and
2) the relative importance of the three steps in determining outcome. Using
data from Oregon's civil commitment process, they present five examples
that demonstrate how their method might be used to study and monitor civil
commitment processes within and between jurisdictions. The major public
policy and research implications are discussed.
