THE CAPACITY OF A MEASURE OF DISABILITY (THE LSP) TO PREDICT HOSPITALREADMISSION IN THOSE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

One hundred and eighteen subjects with an admission diagnosis of schiz ophrenia were reassessed after 12 months to establish whether hospital readmission had occurred. All subjects were rated at baseline and aft er 12 months on the Life Skills Profile (LSP), a 39-item measure of di sability, with scores demonstrating moderate stability. The baseline L SP score was a significant predictor of readmission, both in univariat e and multivariate analyses. By contrast, several univariate variables (e.g. unemployment and non-compliance with medication over the review period) did not maintain their predictive capacity in multivariate an alyses, suggesting that they were manifestations or consequences of si gnificant disability, rather than independent contributors to poor out come.