Patients referred to extended inpatient treatment or outpatient therapy from a private short-term therapeutic community

An exploratory, longitudinal, multimethod examination of characteristics of short-term therapeutic community patients suggests that male and femal patients receiving recommendations for further extended hospitalization were the relatively younger, more docile, conforming, and good patients who appreciated their hospital experience and the unit. Diagnostic, biographical, and staff ratings were not improtant predictors of referral patterns.