Demographic and clinical characteristics as predictors of length of hospitalization and readmission

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Abstract
The present study investigated demographic and clinical characteristics of psychiatric patients in relation to the two criterion variables of length of hospitalization and readmission within 3 months of discharge. Stepwise multiple regression analysis identified five variables as the optimal set of predictors for lenght of hospitalization: age, history of commitment, number of prior psychiatric hospitalizations, recent employment history, and past history of suicidal behavior (R = 0.451). Regression analysis also identified six variables as the optimal set of predictors for readmission within 3 months of discharge: type of discharge, number of prior psychiatric hospitalizations, race, suicide attempt within 1 month prior to admission, subjective report of depression upon admission, and occupational level (R = 0.452). Implications of the findings for identifying short-term treatment candidates and factors related to readmission are discussed.