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Predicting treatment outcome and recidivism among patients in a maximum security token economy
Author(s) -
Rice Marnie E.,
Quinsey Ver L.,
Houghton Randerson
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370080312
Subject(s) - recidivism , token economy , earnings , outcome (game theory) , security token , insanity , psychiatry , maximum security , point (geometry) , psychology , antisocial personality disorder , medicine , economics , poison control , injury prevention , medical emergency , computer science , computer security , finance , social psychology , mathematics , criminology , microeconomics , geometry , prison , reinforcement
The relationship between program performance and outcome for patients in maximum security token economy programs has not been previously studied. We examined variables related to success in a token economy program and to postrelease failure for 92 men in a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Point earnings later in the program were best predicted by earlier point earnings. Variables that best predicted postrelease failure, defined in various ways, were similar to those found in other studies; youthfulness, having spent more time in institutions, a diagnosis of personality disorder or retardation rather than psychosis, not having been found not guilty by reason of insanity or unfit to stand trial, and having been referred from another psychiatric hospital. That program variables were generally unrelated to later outcome suggests that treatment programs for patients in maximum security settings must emphasize skills that are relevant to postrelease success.