ON OUR OWN - PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A CONSUMER-RUN SERVICE MODEL

A study of the role of a consumer-run drop-in center was conducted to study the role of the center in the lives of the consumers who utilize it, as well as to examine the particular symptomatology of this popul ation of consumers A total of 140 participants was assessed using the Community Oriented Programs Environment Scale (COPES) to measure the s ocial environment of the drop-in center, and the Brief Symptom Invento ry (BSI) to measure the psychological adjustment of the participants. It was hypothesized that greater symptom scores on the BSI would be pr edictive of increased discrepancy in perceptions of the real and ideal social environments at the drop-in center findings from this study sh owed that higher scores on the aggression subscale of the BSI were ass ociated with greater perception of differences between the real and id eal environments at the drop in center. The anger and aggression subsc ale of the COPES showed the greatest discrepancy between consumer perc eptions of the actual and the ideal environments of the drop-in center Additional research is needed to fully understand the relationship be tween consumer characteristics and the role of drop-in centers as prov iders of community-based mental health services.