Social Treatment of Chronic Schizophrenia: a Comparative Survey of Three Mental Hospitals

One of the fundamental concerns of social psychiatrists is to determine whether social events can influence the onset and the course of a particular mental illness and, if so, in what ways. The problems involved are formidable. In schizophrenia, for example, it is necessary to have reliable means of measuring the manifestations and progress of the disease, as well as adequate methods for assessing social events. However, if these difficulties can be satisfactorily overcome, there is a way in which a preliminary experiment can be made.