Abstract
The present study, one of the first of its kind, describes the characteristics Of community living placements for insanity acquittees conditionally released following hospitalization, along with the “fit” between living placement and individual characteristics. Although the small number of insanity acquittees (n = 13) and community placements (n = 9) precluded meaningful statistical analyses of results, the study provides a model for studying the characteristics of placements as well as personal characteristics of acquittees, and the interaction between the two. It also suggests the possible importance of this interaction, operationalized as “fit” between characteristics and placement. Consistent with research findings for other criminal defendants and for nonforensic psychiatric patients released from hospitalization, a better fit between acquittee and community placement may be associated with increased likelihood of success on conditional release.
Footnotes
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Dr. Heilbrun is clinical director, Forensic Unit, and associate professor, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia, Central State Hospital, Petersburg, VA. K. Lawson and S. Spier are affiliated with the Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee. J. Libby is affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
- Copyright © 1994, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
