title: Relationship between the social and demographic characteristics of post-sentence offenders and the outcomes of forensic psychiatric referrals.
abstract: Examined the relationship between the social and demographic characteristics of post-sentence offenders (N = 240) and outcome of outpatient forensic psychiatric referrals using multiple regression analysis. The referral process was divided into three stages: Decision to refer, compliance with referral, and outcome of referral, and the following research questions were explored: (1) whether there were differences between the social and demographic characteristics of offenders who were referred by court order of the sentencing judge and those referred by their probation officer; (2) the the relationship between socioeconomic status and completion of referral; (3) the relationship between socioeconomic status and recommendation for further mental health services; and (4) the relationship between source of referral and recommendation for mental health services. Results suggest that the relationship between social and demographic variables and the offender's interaction with a forensic mental health system is markedly different from the voluntary clients and mental health resources studied in earlier research.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare / Q000523:psychology; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000628:therapy; D003415:Crime; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors