Characteristics of Readmitted Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract

This study examined sociodemographic, diagnostic, psychological, and episode-based variables in a sample of 130 psychiatric patients admitted to treatment at least twice in a 6-yr. period. Short length of initial hospitalization ( r = -.30, p <.01) and younger age on initial admission ( r = -.20, p <.05) were significantly correlated with frequent hospital admissions. Scores on four of the subscales of the WAIS-R were significantly correlated with readmission, confirming that patients who have fewer cognitive resources are at risk of frequent admissions. A multiple regression analysis combining variables to predict readmission accounted for only 12% of the common variance ( r128 = .34, p <.01), however, indicating that a prediction equation with these variables has limited clinical utility.