Disability pensions in severely disturbed in-patient adolescents. Twenty-year prospective study.
BACKGROUND
Knowledge of working capacity from adolescence until adulthood among severely disturbed in-patients is scarce.


METHODS
In a follow-up study of 61 adolescent in-patients, we studied associations between being on a disability pension 20 years after hospitalisation, and the patients' psychopathology and treatment-related factors during the hospitalisation and seven-year follow-up.


RESULTS
Of the former in-patients, 27% had not been on a disability pension, 20% had short-term pension periods, and 53% were pensioned. Subjects whose overall psychosocial functioning had improved and who had not utilised in-patient services until the seven-year follow-up, had a better prognosis in terms of working capacity. Half of the subjects who had not been on pension during the follow-up had received a diagnosis of conduct disorder at discharge, and half of those pensioned had a psychotic disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
The patients' level of psychosocial functioning and capability to work in young adulthood were associated with long-term prognosis in terms of working capacity. Adolescence seems to be the critical time for intensive psychiatric care combined with vocational rehabilitation programmes.
Pelkonen
M
M
Tampere School of Public Health, University of Tampere, Finland.
Marttunen
M
M
Pulkkinen
E
E
Laippala
P
P
Lönnqvist
J
J
Aro
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D010415:Pensions; D019989:Persons with Intellectual Disabilities; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012943:Social Security