Abstract
A group of 21 elopers were traced and evaluated some six months after their departure. A control group of 21 patients who received discharges through normal channels were also traced.
The control group fared significantly better on a scale developed to measure community adjustment and were also significantly improved compared to their pre-hospital functioning, whereas the self-discharged group had not improved through the intervention of hospitalization.
The results can be interpreted in two ways: (A) “readiness” for discharge in the ward administrator's opinion is a good prognostic sign for post-hospital functioning, or (B) patients who discharge themselves represent a distinct population with different treatment needs. The authors feel the latter interpretation has more merit.
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Additional information
This paper is from Bronx State Hospital, 1500 Waters Place, Bronx, N. Y. 10461, and the Department of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
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Pam, A., Bryskin, L., Rachlin, S. et al. Community adjustment of self-discharged patients. Psych Quar 47, 175–183 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01562223
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01562223