Impact of supervised apartments on the functioning of mentally disordered adults.

The impact on the mentally disordered of living in supervised residences remains unclear. The present investigation followed a group of supervised apartment residents and a matched comparison group for two years. Symptomatology, psychosocial functioning, stress, social support, quality of life, and life satisfaction were measured at six month intervals. Readmission and consultations in the emergency room were documented for all subjects for the two year period. Neither readmission rates, emergency room consultations, nor measures of functioning, other than symptomatology, differed for the two groups. It is argued that supervised apartments are stressful environments that may lead to deterioration in mentally disordered persons.