Subgroups and prognosis of "difficult-to-place" schizophrenic long-stay patients: Distinguishing "hard core" patients - Part 2 of the hessian deinstitutionalisation study

Long-standing processes of deinstitutionalization often display processes of selection that result in groups of patients with marked disability profiles left in hospital. According to the literature socially deviant and unacceptable behaviour are a main obstacle to living in the community. Therefore, a group of ,,remnant" chronic schizophrenic patients was analysed by means of a latent class analysis with indicators of social behaviour and compliance. Three different subgroups were found, one of which had an extremely poor level of adaptation. However, prognosis of staff with regard to patients' ability to live outside the psychiatric hospital, and the rates of patients being moved into the community in the course of subsequent deinstitutionalization were not different among the three groups. Characteristics of ,,most-difficult-to-place patients''' as discussed in the literature are called into question on the basis of the results of this study.