The "new young chronic" psychiatric patient: a study in Vancouver

A group of Vancouver B.C. schizophrenic patients were studied to see if the younger subjects possessed the characteristics of the "new young chronic" patient described in the literature. Information on a number of quantitative measures of community functioning was gathered from the clinical files of patients who were attending community mental health teams. The younger subjects possessed many of the same features of the "new young chronic" described by other workers. This was a group with a high level of instability, as reflected in high rehospitalization rates, a greater need for clinical services, an earlier initial contact with the psychiatric system, lower marriage rates, lower employment rates and greater mobility than the older subjects. Because age accounted for so much variability within the sample, the young patients may be regarded as a distinct sub-group. The limitations and implications of the study are discussed. There may be a "lack of fit" between patient needs and the services of the mental health delivery system.