Gender, premorbid social functioning, and long-term outcome in DSM-III schizophrenia

The present study examined the relationships among premorbid social functioning, gender, and long-term outcome in a group of 82 subjects (41 men and 41 women) who were retrospectively rediagnosed to meet the criteria for DSM-III schizophrenia. The Premorbid Adjustment Scale was used to assess premorbid social functioning along a developmental continuum. The Community Adjustment Scale provided outcome data related to the subjects' degree of productivity, ability to maintain close relationships, and presence/absence of symptomatology an average of 32 years after initial admission. The results indicated that females tended to exhibit better premorbid functioning than males. Although the outcome data did not reveal a statistically significant relationship between gender and long-term functioning, the results were in the predicted direction, with females again demonstrating more favorable outcome than males. Despite the absence of a statistically significant gender effect, a relationship did appear to exist between premorbid functioning and very long-term outcome, with premorbid asocial functioning predicting poor outcome.