Sociopsychiatric study of schizophrenia

A controlled study of psychiatric hospital versus community treatment - the effect on relatives

One hundred and twenty patients presenting at Macquarie Hospital for admission were randomly allocated into two groups. The control group patients received standard hospital care and follow-up. The project group patients were not admitted if this could be avoided; instead they were taken back to the community by the project team who provided them and their relatives with comprehensive, assertive and prolonged follow-up treatment backed by a 24-hour crisis service. The majority (63%) of the project group had no admission during the 10 month study period. Initially, the burden on the relatives of the project group was higher, but by one month it was somewhat lower and by four months it was significantly lower than the burden on the control group relatives. Relatives of the project group patients were significantly more satisfied with the treatment than control group relatives. It is clearly feasible to treat most psychiatric patients in the community without increasing the burden on their relatives.

Infantile autism: the incidence of national groups in a New South Wales survey

In a survey on the occurrence of infantile autism in New South Wales it was found that 21-9% of children had at least one foreign-born parent whose native language was not English. In terms of population incidence for New South Wales, Italy and Yugoslavia were under-represented while Greece and Germany were significantly over-represented. The stresses faced by migrants in a new country were discussed in terms of possible contributing agents and in particular, the cultural traditions of the Greeks and their adjustment problems were highlighted. It was suggested that the stresses of cultural change and the socioeconomic pressures borne by the parents resulted in deprivation of their children who were also exposed to a confused language environment, and that a combination of these variables could lead to decompensation into an autistic state in an already vulnerable child.

Sociopsychiatric study of schizophrenia: the follow-up

SYNOPSIS A one-year follow-up of 127 schizophrenic patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals in 1968–69, who had spent at least three months in the community during the year following their admission, revealed that regular taking of medication is the most crucial single factor leading to improvement in the psychiatric status of the patient, regardless of whether he was living in a positive or a negative environment. No difference was found between family of origin and nuclear family, but family setting tended to influence either improvement or deterioration of the patient, whilst patients living in a non-family setting remained predominantly unchanged. The progress of southern European patients was poorer than all the others, independently of their family setting and medication.