A controlled evaluation of inpatient family intervention. I. Preliminary results of the six-month follow-up.

Overview

Although family intervention is practiced in most psychiatric hospitals, there are no adequately controlled studies of its efficacy. This study was designed to answer, in part, the following question: What is the relative efficacy of hospitalization with family intervention as compared with hospitalization without family intervention for patients with major psychiatric disorders who are in need of hospital treatment and for whom both treatments are judged clinically feasible? This is our first report, presenting preliminary data on six-month follow-up for the first three quarters of the total sample of 144 patients (80 with schizophrenic disorder and 64 with major affective disorder).