PSYCHIATRIC-HOSPITALIZATION HISTORY AND PAROLE DECISIONS

The present study investigates the impact of a recent history of psych iatric hospitalization on obtaining parole for an exit cohort of male offenders. Legal variables (number of prior imprisonments, prior arres t for violent crime, use of violence in current offense, conviction fo r drug-related offense, history of drug use, and annual prison infract ion rate), social and community support variables (marital status. edu cation, area of conviction, family support, and occupation), and extra legal variables (race and age at release) are all examined, along with psychiatric hospitalization history, for their impact on the parole d ecision-making process and, ultimately, the percentage of maximum sent ence served. The results from logistic regression and multiple regress ion indicate that psychiatric hospitalization history significantly re duces the likelihood of receiving parole and increases the percentage of maximum sentence served. This relationship persists once other vari ables have been controlled. Possible explanations and policy implicati ons are discussed.