Tolerance of deviance and the community adjustment of the mentally ill

The influence of social variables on the level of community adjustment of 60 former state hospital patients was examined. Community adjustment was operationalized to include measures of instrumental performance, social participation and satisfaction with community circumstances. Hierarchical regression analysis was utilized to assess the contribution of social-level predictors. The results of the study suggest that the character of a psychiatric patient's social milieu can influence the success she/he experiences in attempting to adjust to life in the community. Specifically, each of the measures of adjustment was closely related to significant other attitudes, i.e., expectations and tolerance of deviance. Overall, the results suggest the importance of a social-environmental strategy as a means to achieve positive changes in patients' adjustment to community living.