An investigation of family environmental alteration affecting short-term recovery from Schizophrenia in China.
BACKGROUND
It has been hypothesised that change in the family environment affects short-term recovery from schizophrenia.


METHODS
Observation and study of 210 schizophrenic patients who were influenced by family environmental alteration show that the prognosis of schizophrenia caused suddenly by family environmental alteration is better than that of schizophrenia caused by a persistently unfavourable family environment.


RESULTS
Hence, we think sudden family environmental alterations do not cause psychorrhoea, but slow family environmental alteration may cause change in the mental state of patients. The prognosis is worse in the countryside than in the city. From the study group, we conclude that the first cure rate was 28%, and that 26% of patients were able to work. This indicates that there were no typical cases of the core pattern of schizophrenia, and that there was a certain potential for recovery.


CONCLUSIONS
In the future, the emphasis of prevention and treatment must be placed on the countryside, and attention should be paid to the improvement of living and working conditions there, to the correct administration of patients, and to the improvement of recovery measures and therapy. We advocate that efforts should be made in the countryside to raise the national educational and cultural level.
Rong-Min Chen
R M
RM
Fuzhou Hospital for Neurological and Mental Disease, China.
D002681:China; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D004777:Environment; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011379:Prognosis; D012424:Rural Population; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology