Sex differences in the relationship between premorbid asociality and posthospital outcome

To clarify the influence of the patient’s sex on the relationship between level of premorbid social functioning and posthospital outcome, the premorbid asocial adjustment during preadolescence and adolescence and the 3-year posthospital outcome of a group of 163 previously hospitalized psychiatric patients were determined. A significant relationship was found between premorbid asocial adjustment and both incidence of rehospitalization and sex (p < .005). The data indicate that a premorbid asocial adjustment scale (PAAS) score associated with good posthospital outcome among male patients was indicative of poor outcome for female patients. Thus the mean PAAS score for nonhospitalized males (4.97) is statistically similar to the mean PAAS score of rehospitalized females (5.30). Further, the relationship between PAAS and rehospitalization was limited to schizophrenic patients, indicating that the meaning of premorbid asocial adjustment is a function of diagnosis rather than a panpathological index. The findings were discussed in terms of differences in childrearing practices and social expectations for each sex group. The importance of comparing individuals on measures of premorbid social competence only within their own sex and diagnostic group was emphasized.