Initial assessment of hospital treatment by patients with paranoid schizophrenia: a predictor of outcome.

The value of schizophrenic inpatients' initial global assessments of treatment in the prediction of outcome was investigated. Within 3 days of admission, 31 patients with an acute paranoid schizophrenic psychosis according to ICD-10 rated on a visual analog scale to what extent they believed the treatment they were receiving was right for them. Outcome criteria were overall clinical changes measured on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Intentionality Scale. The patients' initial global assessments of treatment were significantly correlated to both outcome criteria, indicating that patients with a more positive initial assessment of treatment ultimately benefited more than those with a more negative appraisal. The predictive correlations were independent of the influence of other variables recorded in the study. Patients' initial global assessments should be taken seriously in clinical practice and studied systematically in research.