Abstract
Community mental health professionals are greatly concerned with the type of social environment most conducive to helping patients remain outside psychiatric institutions and improving the quality of their lives in the community. This paper examines the tolerance of deviance characterizing significant others in the patient's environment as it relates to community tenure and selected measures of performance and quality of life of the older patient in the community. A possible role is suggested for differential tolerance of deviance in the lives of patients discharged from psychiatric hospitals. Although it would appear that patients may return to the hospital at a higher rate from low tolerance environments, it may be that for patients who remain in the community, the quality of life may be better in low tolerance environments in terms of social interaction and life satisfaction. The deviance model is of value in the continuing efforts to understand the role of the social environment in the community life of discharged patients.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dinitz, S., Lefton, M., Angrist, S. and Pasamanick, B. Psychiatric and social attributes as predictors of case outcome in mental hospitalization. In T. Scheff (Ed.)Mental illness and social processes. New York: Harper & Row, 1967.
Fletcher, C., & Reynolds, L. Residual deviance labeling, and the mentally sick role: A Critical review of concepts.Sociological Focus, 1968,1, 9–27.
Freeman, H., & Simmons, O. Wives, mothers, and post-hospital performance levels.Social Forces, 1958,37, 153–159.
Freeman, H., & Simmons, O.The mental patient comes home. New York: Wiley, 1963.
Gove, W. Societal reaction as an explanation of mental illness: An evaluation.American Sociological Review, 1970,5, 873–884.
Lemert, E.Social pathology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1951.
Lemert, E.Human deviance, social problems and social control. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1967.
New, P., Ruscio, A., Priest, R., Petritsi, P. and George, L., The support structure of heart and stroke patients: A study of the role of significant others in patient rehabilitation.Social Science and Medicine, 1968,2, 185–200.
Scheff, T.Being mentally ill: A sociological theory. Chicago: Aldine, 1966.
Simmons, O., & Freeman, H. Family expectations and post-hospital performance of mental patients.Human Relations, 1959,12, 233–242.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Appreciation is extended to Dr. Charles M. Wylie of the University of Michigan School of Public Health for reviewing an earlier version of this paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Carpenter, J.O., Bourestom, N.C. Performance of psychiatric hospital discharges in strict and tolerant environments. Community Ment Health J 12, 45–51 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01435737
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01435737