Patients with criminal history and without criminal responsibility under compulsory treatment at the forensic psychiatry unit of Bakirköy Research and Training Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases are included in the study and the relationship of various parameters like sociodemographic and clinic features and forensic histories are compared with the duration of the hospitalization (1,2).

One-hundred five schizophrenic patients are included to the study. Patients were divided into three different groups according to the duration of hospitalization. Each group included 35 patients: 1. Group: 2–6 months, 2. Group: 1–3 years, 3. Group: more than 3 years of time. An Interview Form of the Unit Identifying Sociodemographic Properties, Disease and Criminal Characteristics of the Patients, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Scale for Assessment of Three Components of Insight, Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia and the Perceived Social Support Scale of the Family were applied.

Our data indicated that to be convicted before, to be under compulsory treatment before, severity of the criminal act and the level of insight seem to associate with duration of hospitalization of schizophrenic subjects under compulsory treatment. Besides parameters like the age of onset of schizophrenia, being under guardianship and the frequency of visitors were statistically different among the groups.

Our data underlines the importance of the level of insight, which plays a crucial role at the length of hospitalization for patients with schizophrenia in forensic units.