Family environment as a predictor of psychiatric rehospitalization.
The Family Environment Scale scores and demographic characteristics of 108 discharged psychiatric patients were used to predict outcome at 3 months and 1 year. Higher ratings of family expressiveness predicted fewer days of rehospitalization, especially among schizophrenic patients. Higher family cohesion scores predicted better family-rated patient adjustment. The patients were more likely to rate themselves as better adjusted if they had higher incomes, lived with parents rather than a spouse, and came from families with less emphasis on independence. Family environment was a better predictor of rehospitalization than baseline ratings of clinical status, indicating the importance of family support in the community adjustment of chronic psychiatric patients.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010359:Patient Readmission; D011336:Probability; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012944:Social Support