In a sample of 205 hospitalized schizophrenics, 59 men were found who made verbal threats to kill or physical attacks some time during their illness. All homicidal aggression occurred during active phases of psychosis, typically in a setting of acute excitement and in recurrent illnesses. Paranoid diagnoses were overrepresented. Closely related females were the prime targets, suggesting a resentment of dependence on a woman. An impersonal, compulsive urge appears to be the motivating force leading to physical attacks.
Data available on 316 psychiatric patients, soon after admission to a hospital, were used in a multiple regression formula and in less formal statistical techniques to predict length of stay. Demographic and MMPI predictors made possible early identification of long stay patients at greater than base rate frequency. The asymptote of prediction was reached when 6 of 24 variables had been included, suggesting that further search in the area would be redundant. Prediction with the 5 prediction schema was stable on a crossvalidation sample of 3S2.
A depressive syndrome, closely resembling melancholia, was found in a large proportion of chronic schizophrenic men. Depression was most prominent during acute psychotic phases and was characterized by a delusional core of worthlessness and guilt. The depressive syndrome may persist throughout the patient's psychotic life and appears to be an integral component of schizophrenic psychopathology.
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