[Social integration and contacts to reference persons of the normal social environment in inpatient treatment in the psychiatric hospital. A prospective catamnestic study of patients admitted for the first time with schizophrenic and cyclothymic psychoses].

Fifty first-admission inpatients (27 women, 23 men; mean age 35.1 years) with schizophrenia (n = 35) or affective disorders (n = 15) participated in a standardized, half-open interview about contact with people outside the hospital. The frequency of contact was compared with outcome, as based on a 1-year follow-up. Nearly all patients (48 of 50) had "direct" contact with relatives and friends during the week (means = 3/week): 45 patients had visitors, 13 went home on weekends. Thirty-five patients had contact with the outside by telephone, and 21 by letter; only 12 patients indicated no "indirect" contact. The frequency of contact had no relationship to sex, age or diagnosis. The significant factors were: structure of the patient's family, his/her educational and occupational level, social network, means of admission, conditions of hospitalization, and length of stay. The distance between the patient's residence and the hospital markedly influenced the frequency of visits and weekend holidays. The importance of frequent interaction with the usual social environment was verified by follow-up: 11 patients with rare or only average contact had unfavorable results (readmission or suicide by 1 year after discharge or long-term hospitalization); on the other hand, none of the patients with frequent direct contact outside the hospital showed poor results. There is no reason for indiscriminate criticism of the relatives of psychiatric inpatients according to etiological hypotheses of "family research"; above all, patients without relationships with a family or friends have to be regarded as at risk.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)