THE EFFECT OF RESOCIALIZATION TECHNIQUES ON CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS
Abstract
A description has been given of a rehabilitation research project for chronic disturbed schizophrenic patients who had been hospitalized on the average for about 7 years.
In the experimental group a modification was seen in many of the accessory symptoms of schizophrenia, such as disturbed behavior, delusions, hallucinations, muteness, and withdrawal; these changes allowed a tenuous type of socialization. The fundamental symptoms of schizophrenia, the disturbances in associations and affectivity, remained. The control group demonstrated essentially no change. Follow-up evaluations of the hospitalization status of both groups 8 and 20 months after termination of the study showed almost no further changes.
In the process of resocialization of the chronic schizophrenic patient, a primitive type of sexual object relation occurs, manifested in both homosexual and heterosexual behavior. It is suggested that patients who can engage more in heterosexual contacts, when these are available, are more likely to show a generally improved social adjustment.
The changes observed were considered to be of limited therapeutic significance in view of the numbers of personnel involved, special facilities, and resultant costs for such a program. Further limitations influencing the practical aspects are the difficulties experienced by personnel interacting in a close relationship with chronic schizophrenic patients. These include adverse personal reactions, status problems, and difficulties in maintaining a consistent interest in the project.
It may be concluded that in the schizophrenic illness, the accessory symptomatology is related in part to psychocultural factors and can therefore be modified by socialization techniques, as described in this study.
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