THE MAINE AND VERMONT 3-DECADE STUDIES OF SERIOUS MENTAL-ILLNESS .2. LONGITUDINAL COURSE COMPARISONS

Background. This paper supplements the cross-sectional outcome compari sons of the companion paper by providing a brief account of the longit udinal courses of the Maine and Vermont samples across several outcome domains. Method. A Life Chart method was used to document changes in individual lives over the domains of residence, work, income source, a nd use of community resources over a 20-year period. Reliability studi es between states were conducted. Results. Throughout much of the peri od, more Vermont subjects lived independently, were working, and were less likely to use community resources compared to Maine subjects. Con clusions. Differences in both policies and programmes contributed to c ourse differences between the groups. System characteristics that may lead to better outcomes are discussed.