322 A Non-Neuroleptic Treat- ment for Schizophrenia: Analysis of the Two-Year

The efficacy of antipsychotic drug maintenance in reducing the risk of relapse among previously hospital-ized schizophrenic patients has been well documented. However, data from an ongoing study comparing two cohorts of young first admission schizophrenics—one receiving neu-roleptic-oriented treatment on the wards of a community mental health center (CMHC), the other an inten-sive interpersonal approach in a small homelike facility in the com-munity (Soteria House)—raise ques-tions about the routine use of neuro-leptics with.this population. Our questioning of this practice is based on data analyzed from these two cohorts by means of the life table, a statistical technique appropriate for longitudinal studies. Data are pre-sented in two ways: (1) The overall effectiveness of the two independent treatment programs (Soteria, N = 32, vs. CMHC, N = 36) is compared in terms of the probabilities of not being readmitted over the 2-year postdischarge interval. (2) Analyses that look at the influence of the orig-inal treatment setting and postdis-charge antipsychotic drug status on readmission rates are presented. Program comparisons reveal Soteria patients to have a consistently higher survival rate than CMHC patients throughout 2 years postdischarge. At 12 months postdischarge, the cumulative probability of remaining well (no readmissions) significantly favors the Soteria patients (p<.05, 'The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not nec-essarily represent any official position o