Correlates of protracted homelessness in a sample of dually diagnosed psychiatric inpatients

The authors assessed sociodeinographic, drug use, and diagnostic correlates of protracted homelessness in a sample of 147 dually diagnosed patients Mh o required admission to the hospital. when 58 patients with protracted home lessness, defined as continuous undomiciled status for over a year, were co mpared with 74 patients without protracted homelessness, significant differ ences were found with regard to diagnosis, employment status, criminality, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score on admission, and history of injection drug rise. The results of a multiple logistic regression analysis confirme d that a history of injection drug nse, current unemployment, and a diagnos is of schizophrenia Mere positively associated with a history of protracted homelessness. No significant relationships were obtained between protracte d homelessness and demographics or chronicity of mental illness. (C) 1999 E lsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.