The relationship between case manager expectations and outcomes of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The present study examined the relationship between case managers' expectations about the abilities of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and the outcomes (as indicated via chart review) of a randomly selected sample of clients diagnosed with schizophrenia on their caseload. Results indicate that clients of case managers with higher expectations averaged significantly more months of progress in employment than clients of case managers with lower expectations. Case manager expectations were also better predictors of the number of days employed than other case manager and consumer characteristics, however the type of expectation was a critical determinant of the direction of the effect. Case manager expectations were not related to outcomes in living situation.