The course of psychiatric disorder, III: Longitudinal principles.

The authors studied 28 patients hospitalized for functional psychiatric disorder in an attempt to explore systematically the course of psychiatric disorder. Data collected over the 2-year period following discharge suggested the existence of eight longitudinal principles for understanding the course of psychiatric disorder. These principles reflect identifiable phases and some of the factors involved in a patient's remaining in one phase or moving on to a new phase. The clinical and research implications of these principles are described.