THE DEFICIT SYNDROME IN THE SUFFOLK-COUNTY MENTAL-HEALTH PROJECT

Patients with schizophrenia in the Suffolk County Mental Health Projec t were categorized into groups with (n=32) and without (n=52) the defi cit syndrome, using a case identification method based on the Brief Ps ychiatric Rating Scale. The deficit group had a lower level of functio n at both index admission and 24-month follow-up; these differences co uld not be attributed to group differences in demographic variables, c hronicity of illness, or a greater severity of psychosis in the defici t syndrome group. The number of patients categorized as deficit was gr eater at 24 months (34%) than at 6 months (25%).