In the present work, Drs. Astrup and Noreik present the results of a study designed to determine factors predictive of favorable or unfavorable resolutions of acute phychotic processes. The material studied includes 706 patients hospitalized at Gaustad Hospital, Oslo, from 1951 to 1957 who were available for follow-up at least five years later. Case histories—original anamneses and hospital courses—were coded by two psychiatrists, Dr. Astrup and one of several associates. Follow-up included personal examination where possible (at home, in hospital) or by questionnaire answered by patients, relatives, other hospitals, or public health officers. This series could be compared with a previous series of 1,102 patients admitted between 1938 and 1950.
Eighteen clinical factors, 15 social factors, and various ways of looking at hereditary background were coded from the case histories. These factors were then differentiated by outcome conceived on a 5-point scale ranging from