A 5‐year Follow‐up Study of Male Schizophrenics: Evaluation of Factors Influencing Success and Failure in the Community

A 5‐year follow‐up of 119 discharged schizophrenic men is reported. Fifty‐three patients were not readmitted (arbitrarily defined as successes). Out of 66 failures, 47 were readmitted and discharged and 19 were readmitted and not discharged. Successes were older at discharge, had a longer duration of illness and a longer stay in hospital, lived to a greater extent under sheltered conditions and had a better employment record. There were fewer chronic successes, and also before the 5‐year follow‐up period, the failures had had more readmissions. More successes than failures had neither attended out‐patient control before nor after the last admission. More failures left the hospital against medical advice. The successes were more socially isolated, and at the time of follow‐up, they were less accepted by their relatives and had less of an awareness of being mentally ill. Aggravation of psychotic symptoms because of the patients' omission to take prescribed drugs was the most important cause of readmissions. At the time of follow‐up, more successes were severely disturbed. All the patients showed increasing social and familial problems during the follow‐up period. Attention is drawn to what appears to be important in preventing readmissions and making life easier for the patients and their family in the community. A need of more extensive after‐care facilities and a closer contact with relatives is emphasized.