Most likely to succeed: correlates of good versus poor hospital outcome in young adult inpatients.

This paper presents the findings of a study comparing disparate hospital outcomes of a young adult population. Clinical ratings of much improved and unimproved status at the time of discharge were our outcome variables. Major differences in patient characteristics associated with improvement status related to age of onset of disorder and premorbid functioning. Hospital variables yielding significant differences between the cohorts included treatment alliance on the part of patients and families, reduction in symptomatology, and diagnostic classifications. A discriminant function analysis was carried out to identify the combination of variables contributing the most to the variance. Directions for further study are explored.