Risk factors for homelessness among patients admitted to a state mental hospital

Article Abstract:

There is little hard data on homelessness among mental patients. However, if the general trend toward rising homelessness applies to this group, it is likely that this is a severe problem for the mentally ill. Data in this area are necessary if we are to understand the causes of homelessness and plan for services. The present study sought to identify the factors that put state mental hospital patients at risk for homelessness, and to assess the prevalence of homelessness among this group. A total of 377 patients who were admitted to a New York State mental hospital were evaluated for three-month, three-year, and lifetime prevalence of homelessness. Risk factors, including sex, age, race, geographic location, schizophrenia, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and disruptive childhood experiences were compared with the prevalence of homelessness. Three months after discharge, the prevalence of homelessness was 19 percent. After three years, the prevalence rose to 25 percent, and the lifetime prevalence was 28 percent. Drug abuse was a risk factor associated with homelessness at all three points in time. Being under 40 years old was associated with homelessness at three months, and urban living was associated with homelessness at three years and during the lifetime. Being male, black, alcoholic, or schizophrenic have been established as risk factors for homelessness in the general population; however, these factors were not significant in this analysis. The results indicate that risk factors for homelessness in psychiatric populations may differ from those in the general population. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Social aspects, Mentally ill persons, Complications and side effects, Risk factors, Demographic aspects, Mentally ill, Mental illness, Mental disorders

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Childhood antecedents of homelessness in psychiatric patients

Article Abstract:

Few studies have examined the types and the characteristics of psychiatric patients who are at risk for homelessness. This study examined childhood experiences that correlated with subsequent homelessness. Identification of such factors may help in identifying psychiatric patients at risk. Data on childhood experiences were obtained from 512 individuals in New York City, which included those living in a city shelter with a history of admission into a psychiatric hospital; the homeless mentally ill admitted to Bellevue Hospital; and patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital, including patients who had been homeless and those who had not. Fifteen percent of the subjects who were homeless, or had been homeless, reported having lived in foster care as a child, while only 2 percent of the subjects who had never been homeless reported living in foster care during childhood. Ten percent of the homeless subjects reported being placed in group homes and 20 percent reported running away during childhood, while the figures were 1 percent and 5 percent, respectively, for those who had never been homeless. Among the state hospital patients, patients reporting any one of these three childhood experiences were three times as likely to have experienced homelessness as were the patients that had not experienced any of them. These results indicate that a history of foster care, running away, or group home placement during childhood is associated with adult homelessness in psychiatric patients. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Psychological aspects, Causes of, Homeless persons

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Clinical characteristics, 4-year course, and DSM-IV classification of patients with nonaffective acute remitting psychosis

Article Abstract:

psychosis

Science & research, Care and treatment, Research, Psychoses, Psychotic disorders, Author Abstract

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