Measuring the relationship of public psychiatric admissions to rising unemployment

The results of a correlational analysis of the relationship between monthly state unemployment statistics and admissions to eight Missouri Department of Mental Health facilities are presented. Over a period of 100 months, readmissions, rather than new admissions, showed the strongest positive relationship to unemployment. A second study-a retrospective analysis of admissions before and after a major increase in unemployment-supported the results of the correlational analysis. A third analysis of subset of the original sample, comprised of patients unemployed at the time of admission, suggests that public facilities are more accessible to the unemployed during times of economic adversity. The findings on the relationship of readmission rates to the state of the economy have important implications for policy on deinstitutionalization. The planning, development, and evaluation of community care programs should include consideration of employment data.