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Short-Term Civil Commitment and the Violent Patient

NCJ Number
84926
Journal
American Journal of Psychiatry Volume: 139 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1982) Pages: 1145-1149
Author(s)
J A Yesavage; P D Werner; J M T Becker; M J Mills
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
To explore the specificity of criteria for civil commitment for dangerousness, the authors examined the relationship between civil commitment for dangerousness to others under the California Civil Commitment Statute (the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act) and violent acts and behavioral ratings made immediately after commitment.
Abstract
Using a prospective design they evaluated 84 subjects. The ratings of violent acts for subjects considered dangerous to other were no different than those of a nondangerous control group. The subjects considered dangerous to others, however, differed on several subscales of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The authors discuss the implications of these results for civil commitment proceedings. (Am J Psychiatry 139:1145-1149, 1982) (Author abstract)