Characteristics of Women Forensic Patients in a Federal Hospital

Increased criminal activity among women has prompted greater interest in the mentally ill female offender. An analysis of 72 women forensic inpatients at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., indicated the typical patient was black, unmarried, in her mid-30s, poorly educated, and diagnosed as schizophrenic. The authors examine some relationships between race, type of crime, drug use, institutional history, and age and the utility of such variables as predictors of adjustment. A comparison of the primary sample with a cohort of 72 patients admitted ten years earlier showed that admissions related to public-order and technical offenses such as prostitution, parole violations, and drug violations decreased from 50 to 12 per cent, while admissions related to crimes of violence rose by 17 per cent.