Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:56-60
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Family environment as a predictor of psychiatric rehospitalization
D Spiegel and T Wissler
The Family Environment Scale scores and demographic characteristics of 108
discharged psychiatric patients were used to predict outcome at 3 months
and 1 year. Higher ratings of family expressiveness predicted fewer days of
rehospitalization, especially among schizophrenic patients. Higher family
cohesion scores predicted better family-rated patient adjustment. The
patients were more likely to rate themselves as better adjusted if they had
higher incomes, lived with parents rather than a spouse, and came from
families with less emphasis on independence. Family environment was a
better predictor of rehospitalization than baseline ratings of clinical
status, indicating the importance of family support in the community
adjustment of chronic psychiatric patients.
