PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Richard Miraglia
AU  - Donna Hall
TI  - The Effect of Length of Hospitalization on Re-arrest Among Insanity Plea Acquittees
DP  - 2011 Dec 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 524--534
VI  - 39
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/39/4/524.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/39/4/524.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2011 Dec 01; 39
AB  - State psychiatric hospitals are increasingly populated by forensic patients. In New York State, the growth in the forensic population is largely attributable to increased lengths of stay of patients deemed not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). This research was conducted to determine whether longer periods of hospitalization are associated with better outcomes in the community, as measured by re-arrest for any offense and re-arrest for violence. The sample included 386 NGRI patients released into the community in New York State. A Cox regression proportional hazards model was used to assess the unique effects of length of hospitalization on re-arrest. The results showed that the length of treatment had little effect on either measure of re-arrest. Re-arrest was largely explained by demographics and prior criminal histories.