The Dangerousness of Female Patients: A Comparison of the Arrest Rate of Discharged Psychiatric Patients and the General Population

Women with a history of psychiatric hospitalization are more likely to be arrested for aggressive assault than are women in the general population, according to this study of arrest rates in the state of Maryland. Arrest records were compiled for the five years preceding and following discharge of all women hospitalized and discharged in the state during the fiscal years 1947 and 1957. Other comparisons revealed that pre- and post-hospitalization arrest rates were not significantly different, and there were no differences between the 1947 and 1957 groups that might reflect the use of the newer treatment techniques of the 1950s.