Gender differences in treatment and outcome in a therapeutic community ward, with special reference to schizophrenic...

This study examines gender differences in treatment and institutional outcome in a closed mixed-psychiatric ward functioning as a therapeutic community. Its first-time male (n = 784) and female (n = 741) patients were classified into five diagnostic categories according to criteria from the third revised edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: schizophrenia, schizophreniform/schizoaffective disorder, other psychoses, mood disorders, and nonpsychotic disorders. There were no statistically significant gender differences in sociodemographic variables either in the length of stay or in the number of treatment episodes in this ward in any diagnostic group. Differences in male and female participation in psychosocial therapies (individual, group, and milieu therapy) and in institutional outcome were minimal, with a slight trend in favor of the females. These minimal gender differences indicate an achievement of the treatment goals, and of achieving intergender equality. These goals are especially important for schizophrenic males due to their more severe clinical profile and poorer prognosis. With its greater degree of interaction and positive experiences, the therapeutic community model may help psychotic male patients in facing their age- and gender-specific life-span challenges.