Is employment-focused case management effective for patients with substance use disorders? Results from a controlled multi-site trial in Germany covering a 2-years-period after inpatient rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders are associated with unemployment. An employment-focused case management (CMRE) has been conceptualised as a specific intervention to help substance use disorder patients return to competitive employment immediately after inpatient rehabilitation. This study investigated the effect of the intervention on return to work of persons with substance use disorders. METHOD: The study was conducted in four German inpatient rehabilitation departments, and included unemployed patients (aged between 18 and 63 years) with a main clinical diagnosis of ICD-10 F10-19 disorders. Six weeks before discharge, patients were randomly allocated to CMRE or standard care (SC) using a quasi-randomised approach. The primary outcome measure was integration into competitive employment 24 months after discharge from rehabilitation. Secondary outcome domains were abstinence, duration of employment, proportion of publicly funded employment, satisfaction with life, precarious housing situation and precarious financial situation, and use of follow-up services. Outcome measures were assessed 6 weeks and 1-2 days prior to discharge, and 12 and 24 months after discharge from rehabilitation. RESULTS: One hundred sixty patients were allocated into the CMRE group and 160 patients into the control group. 267 resp. 179 participants could be included in the analyses performed for the 12-, and the 24-months follow-up assessments. At the study endpoint the rate of integration into the primary labour market was 35.6 % in the CMRE group and 41.2 % in the control group, respectively (Relative Risk 0.92, 95 % CI, 0.47; 1.79). There was a significantly higher proportion in the CMRE group, however, which immediately after discharge linked with services of the Federal Employment Agency or Job Centres. There were no statistically significant differences in other outcomes between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to SC, the additional specific CMRE intervention did not result in superior effects on return to work rates, abstinence, satisfaction with life, and housing and precarious financial situation. But CMRE was more effective on linking substance use disorder patients with services of the Federal Employment Agency or Job Centres. Reasons for the finding that such close linking does not have an impact on return to work rates are discussed in detail. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Identifier: DRKS00003574 ; March 12, 2012. The trial was retrospectively registered.

Do patient and ward-related characteristics influence the use of coercive measures? Results from the EUNOMIA international study.

PURPOSE: This study aims to identify whether selected patient and ward-related factors are associated with the use of coercive measures. Data were collected as part of the EUNOMIA international collaborative study on the use of coercive measures in ten European countries. METHODS: Involuntarily admitted patients (N = 2,027) were divided into two groups. The first group (N = 770) included patients that had been subject to at least one of these coercive measures during hospitalization: restraint, and/or seclusion, and/or forced medication; the other group (N = 1,257) included patients who had not received any coercive measure during hospitalization. To identify predictors of use of coercive measures, both patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and centre-related characteristics were tested in a multivariate logistic regression model, controlled for countries' effect. RESULTS: The frequency of the use of coercive measures varied significantly across countries, being higher in Poland, Italy and Greece. Patients who received coercive measures were more frequently male and with a diagnosis of psychotic disorder (F20-F29). According to the regression model, patients with higher levels of psychotic and hostility symptoms, and of perceived coercion had a higher risk to be coerced at admission. Controlling for countries' effect, the risk of being coerced was higher in Poland. Patients' sociodemographic characteristics and ward-related factors were not identifying as possible predictors because they did not enter the model. CONCLUSIONS: The use of coercive measures varied significantly in the participating countries. Clinical factors, such as high levels of psychotic symptoms and high levels of perceived coercion at admission were associated with the use of coercive measures, when controlling for countries' effect. These factors should be taken into consideration by programs aimed at reducing the use of coercive measures in psychiatric wards.

Gender differences in coerced patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Despite the recent increase of research interest in involuntary treatment and the use of coercive measures, gender differences among coerced schizophrenia patients still remain understudied. It is well recognized that there are gender differences both in biological correlates and clinical presentations in schizophrenia, which is one of the most common diagnoses among patients who are treated against their will. The extent to which these differences may result in a difference in the use of coercive measures for men and women during the acute phase of the disease has not been studied. METHODS: 291 male and 231 female coerced patients with schizophrenia were included in this study, which utilized data gathered by the EUNOMIA project (European Evaluation of Coercion in Psychiatry and Harmonization of Best Clinical Practice) and was carried out as a multi-centre prospective cohort study at 13 centers in 12 European countries. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, social functioning and aggressive behavior in patients who received any form of coercive measure (seclusion and/or forced medication and/or physical restraint) during their hospital stay were assessed. RESULTS: When compared to the non-coerced inpatient population, there was no difference in sociodemographic or clinical characteristics across either gender. However coerced female patients did show a worse social functioning than their coerced male counterparts, a finding which contrasts with the non-coerced inpatient population. Moreover, patterns of aggressive behavior were different between men and women, such that women exhibited aggressive behavior more frequently, but men committed severe aggressive acts more frequently. Staff used forced medication in women more frequently and physical restraint and seclusion more frequently with men. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study point towards a higher threshold of aggressive behavior the treatment of women with coercive measures. This may be because less serious aggressive actions trigger the application of coercive measures in men. Moreover coerced women showed diminished social functioning, and more importantly more severe symptoms from the "excitement/hostile" cluster in contrast to coerced men. National and international recommendation on coercive treatment practices should include appropriate consideration of the evidence of gender differences in clinical presentation and aggressive behaviors found in inpatient populations.

[Direct health-related costs of severely mentally ill patients and their informal carers in community care]. / Gesundheitsbezogene Versorgungskosten schwer psychisch erkrankter Patienten und ihrer Angehörigen während gemeindepsychiatrischer Betreuung.

OBJECTIVE: Within the last few years, a small number of German cost analyses of patients treated in community mental health care settings was presented. None of these studies, however, examined direct health care costs of the patients' close reference persons focusing on costs associated with providing informal care. Therefore, our study aimed to analyse health-related direct costs of severely ill patients suffering from affective or schizophrenic disorders, and of their informal carers during community mental health care; further, we examined if these costs differed between the diagnostic groups. METHODS: 69 patients currently treated by community mental health services of the Dresden region and their closest reference person providing informal care were assessed twice within an interval of 3 months by use of the CSSRI- D. Thus, direct health care costs of patients and their informal carers covering a 6-months-period could be calculated. RESULTS: 25.35% and 38.24%, respectively, of the closest reference persons' direct health care costs were caused by the situation of acting as informal carer. This was 9.12% and 22.74%, respectively, of the patients' direct health care costs assessed at the same time-points. Patients' costs did not differ between the diagnostic categories, but were influenced by the current severity of psychopathological symptoms. Reference persons' costs were influenced by the severity of the patient's psychopathological symptoms, but also by the social control behaviour of the reference persons themselves as well as by their sense of coherence. CONCLUSIONS: While a replication of our findings is urgently needed, they point at the economic significance of direct health-related costs caused by acting as informal carers. Further, therapeutic approaches adequate for minimizing these costs could be suggested, like emphasizing protective factors of mental well-being in psycho-educational programmes for relatives.

A systematic review of the international published literature relating to quality of institutional care for people with longer term mental health problems.

BACKGROUND: A proportion of people with mental health problems require longer term care in a psychiatric or social care institution. However, there are no internationally agreed quality standards for institutional care and no method to assess common care standards across countries. We aimed to identify the key components of institutional care for people with longer term mental health problems and the effectiveness of these components. METHODS: We undertook a systematic review of the literature using comprehensive search terms in 11 electronic databases and identified 12,182 titles. We viewed 550 abstracts, reviewed 223 papers and included 110 of these. A "critical interpretative synthesis" of the evidence was used to identify domains of institutional care that are key to service users' recovery. RESULTS: We identified eight domains of institutional care that were key to service users' recovery: living conditions; interventions for schizophrenia; physical health; restraint and seclusion; staff training and support; therapeutic relationship; autonomy and service user involvement; and clinical governance. Evidence was strongest for specific interventions for the treatment of schizophrenia (family psychoeducation, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and vocational rehabilitation). CONCLUSION: Institutions should, ideally, be community based, operate a flexible regime, maintain a low density of residents and maximise residents' privacy. For service users with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, specific interventions (CBT, family interventions involving psychoeducation, and supported employment) should be provided through integrated programmes. Restraint and seclusion should be avoided wherever possible and staff should have adequate training in de-escalation techniques. Regular staff supervision should be provided and this should support service user involvement in decision making and positive therapeutic relationships between staff and service users. There should be clear lines of clinical governance that ensure adherence to evidence-based guidelines and attention should be paid to service users' physical health through regular screening.

Assessing the opinions of relatives on the causes and social consequences of different mental disorders: are instruments cross-culturally valid?

Obtaining valid information about the opinions of relatives on the causes and social consequences of mental disorders should be an important component in specifically tailoring therapeutic interventions for relatives according to their needs. The available range of instruments is small, however, the most prominent being the Italian Questionnaire on the Opinions of the Family (QOF), developed specifically for schizophrenic disorders. The German validation study of this instrument sought to determine whether the subscale structure of the QOF can be replicated in a group of relatives (N=161) of patients with schizophrenic disorders as well as recurrent depressive and bipolar disorders. Results demonstrate that the original QOF subscales cannot be transferred to groups of relatives of patients with affective disorders, nor to a German group of relatives of patients with only schizophrenic disorders. Therefore, a German version of the QOF was created. Using this modified version of the instrument, researchers established a three-factor solution differentiating the opinions of relatives on chronic mental disorders into three components, reflecting orientation towards pathology, towards normality and towards optimising resources for treatment. None of these factors showed significant relationships with the relatives' causal attributions about mental disorders. Further research is needed to establish cross-nationally valid versions of such instruments.

Investigating the Dynamics of Suicidal Ideation.

BACKGROUND: Although the fluctuating nature of suicidal ideation (SI) has been described previously, longitudinal studies investigating the dynamics of SI are scarce. AIM: To demonstrate the fluctuation of SI across 6 days and up to 60 measurement points using smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments (EMA). METHOD: Twenty inpatients with unipolar depression and current and/or lifetime suicidal ideation rated their momentary SI 10 times per day over a 6-day period. Mean squared successive difference (MSSD) was calculated as a measure of variability. Correlations of MSSD with severity of depression, number of previous depressive episodes, and history of suicidal behavior were examined. RESULTS: Individual trajectories of SI are shown to illustrate fluctuation. MSSD values ranged from 0.2 to 21.7. No significant correlations of MSSD with several clinical parameters were found, but there are hints of associations between fluctuation of SI and severity of depression and suicidality. LIMITATIONS: Main limitation of this study is the small sample size leading to low power and probably missing potential effects. Further research with larger samples is necessary to shed light on the dynamics of SI. CONCLUSION: The results illustrate the dynamic nature and the diversity of trajectories of SI across 6 days in psychiatric inpatients with unipolar depression. Prediction of the fluctuation of SI might be of high clinical relevance. Further research using EMA and sophisticated analyses with larger samples is necessary to shed light on the dynamics of SI.

Normative needs for community-based psychiatric care of patients with schizophrenia in different residential settings.

This study aims to assess the extent of needs for mental health care of patients with schizophrenia living in different residential settings and to evaluate the quality of care in these types of complementary services recently established in the East German region of Dresden. Survey data from the first wave of a longitudinal study of five patient subgroups (N=244) living in (1) a psychiatric nursing home, (2) social therapeutic hostels, (3) sheltered community residential care, (4) at home in the family and (5) alone in one's own home are reported. Normative individual needs for care were assessed using the needs for care assessment (NCA). The patient groups show clear differences in the extent of needs for care, especially in the social NCA section. Patients in the psychiatric nursing home and in the social therapeutic hostels exhibit the highest numbers of areas of need. Positive psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms and neuroleptic side effects are the most prominent clinical areas of need in all subgroups. Patients are most frequently socially disabled in terms of managing household affairs, recreational activities and household chores. Deficits in the need status could be found in the NCA areas of 'negative symptoms,' 'recreational activities,' and 'communication.' The basic needs for mental health care of patients with schizophrenia are met in the established sheltered residential settings. Current deficiencies in providing psychological and educational interventions focusing on coping strategies and social skills training should be minimised in order to decrease the identified deficits in the need status.

Suicidality of chronic schizophrenic patients in long-term community care.

In the provision of mental health care for chronic schizophrenic patients, the specific problems and requirements of long-term community care of suicidal behavior is an area of research not yet fully explored. This study focuses on a 4 1/2-year prospective assessment of normative and subjective needs for care related to this specific area for a cohort living in the Dresden region (Germany). One significant result of this study shows the constant high level of needs for care in the area of suicidal behavior imposed on community services by 30-40% of this diagnostic group. Furthermore, the study identified a special high-risk subgroup for suicides as well as specific needs for care. This subgroup is characterized by clinical reasons for the index hospitalization (suicidal risk or attempt) as well as by psychopathological features (suicidal thoughts and higher levels of anxiety/depression) 1 month after release from index hospitalization. Four items of care were rated as potentially effective for addressing suicidality in the community setting: clinical assessment, increased supervision or systematic recording of (suicidal) behavior, medication, and a sheltered environment. Because these care measures are provided, the percentage of unmet normative needs for the area of suicidal behavior was rather low. Due to limitations of the instrument used for assessment of normative needs, the Needs for Care Assessment (NFCAS), the care measures most frequently provided do not define a quality standard of community care for this problem. A subjective needs assessment differing from the normative approach has to be integrated in establishing guidelines for effective community care.

[Treatment in psychiatric day hospital in comparison with inpatient wards in different European health care systems--objectives of EDEN project]. / Leczenie w psychiatrycznych oddzialach dziennych w porównaniu z oddzialami calodobowymi w róznych europejskich systemach opieki zdrowotnej--zalozenia programu EDEN.

The paper presents the objectives and design of an ongoing multicenter randomized, controlled trial EDEN (European Day Hospital EvaluatioN). The EDEN-study aims to evaluate the efficacy of acute psychiatric treatment in a day hospital setting in five European centres: Dresden, London, Michalovce, Prague and Wroclaw. The main hypothesis is that day hospital treatment for acute psychiatric patients is as effective as conventional inpatient hospital care. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the viability and effectiveness of day hospitals for acute psychiatric treatment, to identify subgroups of patients with a more or less favourable outcome so that the treatment setting might be specifically applied and to ascertain the cost-effectiveness of day hospital treatment compared to conventional inpatient treatment. The study utilises a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) design with repeated measures at a maximum of six time points: at admission (t1), one week after admission (t2), four weeks after admission (t3), discharge (t4), three months after discharge (t5), and 12 months after discharge (t6). A combination of well-established standardised assessment instruments and open questions is used in 6 time periods. If the findings accept the main hypothesis of the study, some practical consequences could be inevitable: at a mental health policy level, these results could lead to an increase in the capacity of day hospitals; at the clinical level clinicians could redefine their concepts of care to consider the day hospital as an alternative to conventional inpatient treatment; from economic point of view could lead to reduction of treatment costs.

Involuntary psychiatric hospitalization: current status and future prospects.

The general aims of this article are: a) to cover the current status of research on the important clinical and human rights issue of involuntary psychiatric hospitalization, and b) to discuss some factors which might influence future developments in this area of mental health care provision. Firstly, the article will outline main results from two literature reviews on outcomes of involuntary hospital admission. Secondly, selected results from the clinical part of a recent European multi-site research project on coercion in psychiatry (Acronym: EUNOMIA) will be presented in detail on the following issues: the association of patients' views of involuntary hospital admission and differences in legislation, patient characteristics associated with more or less positive outcomes of coerced hospital admission, coercive measures (e.g. mechanical restraint, seclusion and forced medication) used during these hospitalizations. Thirdly and finally, the article will shed some light on future prospects of this topic. Thus, some recommendations for best clinical practice in the use of involuntary hospital admission will be discussed, and arguments for two future scenarios, increase vs. decrease of involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations, will be contrasted and analyzed.

Patient characteristics predicting better treatment outcomes in day hospitals compared with inpatient wards.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to identify patient characteristics associated with differences in outcomes of acute treatment in day hospitals and conventional hospital wards. METHODS: Data were from the European Day Hospital Evaluation (EDEN) (2000-2003), a multicenter randomized controlled trial comparing acute treatment in day hospitals and conventional wards in five European countries. All 880 adult patients in the EDEN study who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia, mood disorders, neurotic disorders, and behavioral syndromes (ICD-10 codes F20-F59) and complete data on baseline variables were included. Outcomes were symptom levels (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale), subjective quality of life (Manchester Short Assessment of Quality of Life), and social disability (Groningen Social Disabilities Schedule) assessed at discharge and at three and 12 months postdischarge. Mixed- and main-effects models of interaction effects between patient characteristics and outcomes were generated. RESULTS: Patients' age, diagnostic category, and living status (alone or not) did not predict differences in outcomes between the two settings. However, patients with higher symptom levels at baseline experienced greater symptom improvements after treatment on a ward, and those with more years of education had greater symptom improvements after day hospital treatment. Female patients had more favorable social disability outcomes after day hospital treatment, but no difference between the two settings was found for male patients. CONCLUSIONS: More severe symptoms may be a reason for admission to acute treatment on a conventional ward rather than a day hospital. Female patients and those with more education may benefit more from acute treatment in day hospitals.

Coerced hospital admission and symptom change--a prospective observational multi-centre study.

INTRODUCTION: Coerced admission to psychiatric hospitals, defined by legal status or patient's subjective experience, is common. Evidence on clinical outcomes however is limited. This study aimed to assess symptom change over a three month period following coerced admission and identify patient characteristics associated with outcomes. METHOD: At study sites in 11 European countries consecutive legally involuntary patients and patients with a legally voluntary admission who however felt coerced, were recruited and assessed by independent researchers within the first week after admission. Symptoms were assessed on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Patients were re-assessed after one and three months. RESULTS: The total sample consisted of 2326 legally coerced patients and 764 patients with a legally voluntary admission who felt coerced. Symptom levels significantly improved over time. In a multivariable analysis, higher baseline symptoms, being unemployed, living alone, repeated hospitalisation, being legally a voluntary patient but feeling coerced, and being initially less satisfied with treatment were all associated with less symptom improvement after one month and, other than initial treatment satisfaction, also after three months. The diagnostic group was not linked with outcomes. DISCUSSION: On average patients show significant but limited symptom improvements after coerced hospital admission, possibly reflecting the severity of the underlying illnesses. Social factors, but not the psychiatric diagnosis, appear important predictors of outcomes. Legally voluntary patients who feel coerced may have a poorer prognosis than legally involuntary patients and deserve attention in research and clinical practice.

Acute psychopathology as a predictor of global functioning in patients with ICD-10 non-affective psychosis: a prospective study in 11 European countries.

This prospective analysis aimed to study the influence of psychopathological dimensions on the global functioning of persons suffering from psychotic disorders, taking into account the role of a broad range of potential confounders. A large international cohort (n=1888) with ICD-10 non-affective psychosis was evaluated both at baseline during a hospital admission and three months after discharge. Trained interviewers administered a global functioning scale (GAF) and a psychopathological scale (BPRS) at baseline and follow-up). Baseline BPRS psychopathological dimensions were extracted using Principal Component Analysis. Results of multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that affective symptoms (depressive or manic) prospectively predict a better global functioning, whilst agitation/cognitive symptoms determined poorer global functioning. Other predictors showing an independent effect on better global functioning were medication compliance, country of residence, female gender, married or coupled status, younger age and having a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder rather than schizophrenia or other ICD-10 psychosis. A predicting model for global functioning in patients with psychosis is provided, showing that assessment of affective and agitation/cognitive symptoms should be emphasised during admission as they can be more informative than positive/negative symptoms in prospectively planning follow-up care that is geared towards a better functional recovery.

[The prevalence of depressive symptomatology in the german elderly population and the impact of methodical aspects on the identified prevalence]. / Die Prävalenz depressiver Beschwerden in der älteren Bevölkerung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und die Bedeutung methodischer Aspekte für die identifizierten Prävalenzen.

OBJECTIVES: The issue of whether depression increases or decreases with age remains unclear. Methodical aspects play an important role in the research on depression in the elderly. METHODS: In a representative survey of the German general population aged 50 years and older (n = 1.156) depressive symptomatology was assessed using the CES-D and the PHQ-2, generalized anxiety (GA) was assessed using the GAD-7. RESULTS: According the CES-D 15.9 % and according to the PHQ-2 9.6 % of the population under study are classified as depressed. Prevalence rates increase with increasing age, but only few age groups show significant differences. The CES-D reveals higher prevalence rates than the PHQ-2. Nevertheless depending on the age group 3.6-7.8 % of the sample exclusively identified by the PHQ-2, and 9.0-14.9 % of the sample are exclusively identified by the CES-D. 4.8 (50-59 yrs.) to 10.3 % (80+ yrs.) report a moderate symptomatology of GA. GA is highly comorbid with depressive symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rates in our study are consistent with previous findings of other studies. Moreover our study underpins the importance of methodical aspects for the prevalence rates identified.

Use of coercive measures during involuntary hospitalization: findings from ten European countries.

OBJECTIVE: Involuntary treatment in mental health care is a sensitive but rarely studied issue. This study was part of the European Evaluation of Coercion in Psychiatry and Harmonization of Best Clinical Practice (EUNOMIA) project. It assessed and compared the use of coercive measures in psychiatric inpatient facilities in ten European countries. METHODS: The sample included 2,030 involuntarily admitted patients. Data were obtained on coercive measures (physical restraint, seclusion, and forced medication). RESULTS: In total, 1,462 coercive measures were used with 770 patients (38%). The percentage of patients receiving coercive measures in each country varied between 21% and 59%. The most frequent reason for prescribing coercive measures was patient aggression against others. In eight of the countries, the most frequent measure used was forced medication, and in two of the countries mechanical restraint was the most frequent measure used. Seclusion was rarely administered and was reported in only six countries. A diagnosis of schizophrenia and more severe symptoms were associated with a higher probability of receiving coercive measures. CONCLUSIONS: Coercive measures were used in a substantial group of involuntarily admitted patients across Europe. Their use appeared to depend on diagnosis and the severity of illness, but use was also heavily influenced by the individual country. Variation across countries may reflect differences in societal attitudes and clinical traditions.

Involuntary vs. voluntary hospital admission. A systematic literature review on outcome diversity.

This article systematically reviews the literature on the outcome of acute hospitalization for adult general psychiatric patients admitted involuntarily as compared to patients admitted voluntarily. Inclusion and exclusion criteria qualified 41 out of 3,227 references found in Medline and PSYNDEXplus literature searches for this review. The authors independently rated these articles on six pre-defined indicators of research quality, carried out statistical comparisons ex-post facto where not reported, and computed for each adequate result the effect size index d for the comparison of means, and the Phi- or contingency coefficient for cross-tabulated data. Methodological quality of the studies, coming mostly from North American and European countries, showed significant variation and was higher concerning service-related than clinical or subjective outcomes. Main deficits appeared in sample size estimation, lack of clear follow-up time-points, and the absence of standardized instruments used to assess clinical outcomes. Length of stay, readmission risk, and risk of involuntary readmission were at least equal or greater for involuntary patients. Involuntary patients showed no increased mortality, but did have higher suicide rates than voluntary patients. Further, involuntary patients demonstrated lower levels of social functioning, and equal levels of general psychopathology and treatment compliance; they were more dissatisfied with treatment and more frequently felt that hospitalization was not justified. Future methodologically-sound studies exploring this topic should focus on patient populations not represented here. Further research should also clarify if the legal admission status is sufficiently valid for differentiating the outcome of acute hospitalization.

Loss to follow-up in longitudinal psychiatric research.

AIMS: To analyse factors that differentiate patients who attend follow-up assessments versus those who do not, and to identify predictors for drop-out within the context of the European Day Hospital Evaluation Study (EDEN-Study). METHODS: The EDEN-Study, a multi-center RCT comparing acute psychiatric day care with inpatient care, required re-assessment of patients at discharge, 3 and 12 months after discharge. Follow-up rates varied between 54.0% and 99.5%. Socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients who did and did not attend follow-up were analysed using uni- and multivariate statistical methods. RESULTS: Univariate analyses showed differences between patients regarding study site, treatment setting, living situation, employment, age, psychopathological symptoms and treatment satisfaction. They were not confirmed in multivariate analyses thus meaningful predictors of drop-out could not be identified. CONCLUSIONS: Results emphasize the general need to compare patients re-assessed and not re-assessed in terms of their most relevant socio-demographic and clinical variables to assess the generalizability of results.

[On the outcome of the treatment of mentally disordered criminal offenders (according to section 64 German Penal Code) suffering from addictive disorders]. / Zum Outcome der Massregelvollzugsbehandlung nach S. 64 StGB.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview on the increase of forensic psychiatric hospitalizations in Saxony, and present findings on criminal conviction and recidivism rates of 277 criminal offenders ordered to a forensic psychiatric facility caring for addictive disorders between 1996 and 2001. METHODS: Cluster- and regression-analytic procedures identified predictive variables for declaring the forensic psychiatric hospitalization as useless, and for relevant criminal offences after discharge. RESULTS: About 85 % of the study sample showed more than four offences and more than 1.5 years of imprisonment before admission to the index-treatment episode. About half of the patients was successfully treated as indicated by being released on licence. Socialization in institutions, social disintegration before admission, and absconding during the index-treatment episode are important factors increasing the probability of declaring the hospitalization as useless. In the 2-year observation period, the criminal recidivism rate was 40.0 %. CONCLUSIONS: Social reintegration of this group of mentally disordered criminal offenders is as difficult as important. Findings on recidivism rates indicate a need for extending the number of specialized forensic outpatient departments and a need to focus on primary prevention.

Standardized assessment of psychopathology by relatives of mentally disordered patients. Preliminary results of using the positive and negative syndrome scale to compare schizophrenic and affective disorders.

BACKGROUND: For optimizing the validity of diagnoses of mental disorders, several sources of information should be used to assess psychopathological symptoms. Among these are relatives of patients with mental illness. The very low number of empirical studies examining the assessment of psychopathology by relatives of adult, nondemented mentally ill patients stands in significant contrast to the clinical importance of this source of information, however. SAMPLING AND METHODS: Using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), researchers asked 163 relatives of patients with the main clinical ICD-10 diagnosis of schizophrenic, recurrent depressive or bipolar disorders to rate the current symptoms of the patients at the time of outpatient community-oriented treatment. RESULTS: On average, severity of symptoms was rated as absent or minimal, although anxiety, depression and passive/apathetic social as well as emotional withdrawal, motor retardation, poor attention, and disturbance of volition were clearly rated above the PANSS mean total score for all patients. A six-factor structure identified by factor analysis better illustrates the significant differences in the assessments of the three main diagnostic groups than the three established PANSS scales. With the exception of 'problematic social behavior', differences among the diagnostic groups appeared in all factors and were particularly pronounced for 'delusional beliefs' and 'motor impairments'. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that the use of standardized instruments such as PANSS for the assessment of psychopathology by relatives is not only practical, but produces adequately reliable results. The use of PANSS for this purpose, however, requires interviewing of relatives by trained experts able to explain technical terms. Because this study did not sufficiently explore the validity of this approach, further research on this specific issue is urgently needed and should, for example, assess the concordance of ratings between professionals and relatives as well as correlation with suitable external criteria.