William Menninger (1948) reported research results indicating a significant relationship in a former patient's ability to stay well and his participation in recreation. J. Bates (1963) indicated one reason patients return to psychiatric facilities was the lack of skills that center around recreation. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between leisure activity involvement of psychiatric patients and recidivism. Adult inpatients (N=100) in a short-term psychiatric unit completed the Recreation is Where You Find It questionnaire which assessed leisure involvement and yielded subscores in the areas of social interaction, creative expression, physical expression, spectator appreciation, intellectual stimulation, solitary relaxation, and a total combined score. The relationship of the six subscores and the total score to hospital readmission were analyzed. The results revealed significant negative relationships between hospital readmission and social interaction, creative expression, physical expression, spectator appreciation, intellectual stimulation, solitary relaxation, and the total of all subscores. The findings suggest that individuals who are readmitted to psychiatric facilities have poor leisure time involvement. If the goal of a short-term psychiatric unit is to offer therapy that will decrease readmission rates, leisure education should be a part of each patient's hospital stay. (NB)