Aa. Menditto et al., EFFECTIVENESS OF CLOZAPINE AND A SOCIAL-LEARNING PROGRAM FOR SEVERELYDISABLED PSYCHIATRIC-INPATIENTS, Psychiatric services, 47(1), 1996, pp. 46-51
Objective: This study examined the combined effectiveness of clozapine
and a comprehensive inpatient psychosocial rehabilitation program on
the clinical functioning and aggressive behaviors of patients with chr
onic schizophrenia. Methods: Two groups of 11 subjects each were selec
ted from among patients being treated in the social learning program a
t Fulton (Mo.) State Hospital. Group 1 subjects were placed on clozapi
ne at various times after the intr oduction of the program, while grou
p 2 subjects remained on traditional antipsychotics throughout the stu
dy period. Group 1 and group 2 subjects were matched on clinical funct
ioning as measured by the Time-Sample Behavioral Checklist (TSBC). For
each subject, scores on six TSBC subscales were examined at five time
points. Data were analyzed using repented-measures multiple analysis
of variance and univariate analyses of variance. Data on frequency of
aggressive behaviors were aggregated into three six-month time periods
and were analyzed using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. Results: Both gro
ups demonstrated significant improvement on several measures. However,
the addition of clozapine resulted in accelerated improvement for gro
up 1 subjects, especially in aggressive behaviors. Conclusions: Compre
hensive psychosocial treatment programming resulted in significant imp
rovements in clinical functioning for many inpatients, Clozapine may e
nhance responsiveness to such programming for some patients.