Disability payments, drug use and representative payees: an analysis of the relationships.

Aims: This study attempted to determine: if US federal cash disability payments increase the use of cocaine or opiates among those requalifying for supplemental security income (SSI) disability benefits compared with those who lost benefits; if drug use peaks at the beginning of the month after the receipt of the disability cash disbursement; and if money management by representative payees of requalifying SSI recipients suppresses drug use.

Design: A multi-site, prospective, 2 year longitudinal design was used with follow-up interviews conducted every 6 months. Urine samples were collected at the final three follow-up interviews.

Seeking Person-Environment Fit in Community Care Placement.

Large numbers of patients leave mental hospitals to become residents of community-based sheltered-care facilities, yet little is known about how they use particular local environments to satisfy their needs and wants. This paper considers a crucial issue in community care placement, person-environment fit, using survey data from interviews with 397 residents in 211 sheltered-care facilities, drawn from 157 census tracts in California. It studies how individual characteristics interact with eight environmental contexts to influence sheltered-care residents' external social integration.

THE PREVENTION OF SOCIAL DETERIORATION AMONG COMMUNITY CARE RESIDENTS.

The authors summarize the difficulties in transferring the long-term care function of the hospital to community-based sheltered-care facilities. To prevent social deterioration among sheltered-care residents, facilities must consider: [1] the negative effects of incarceration on social behavior; [2] the availability of support systems; [3] a proper balance between clinical assistance and social support; and [4] provisions for conducting private lives in public places. The authors argue that rehabilitative ideals must be tempered with realistic expectations about the achievement potential of ex-patients, and that resources must be focused on provisions for long-term support.

FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS: MENTAL DISORDER AND SOCIAL MARGIN IN A YOUNG VAGRANT POPULATION.

Twenty-two percent of a young vagrant population reported on in this study, and believed to be representative of similar groups in many American cities, have been hospitalized for psychological disorder. These young mentally disordered vagrants are the most marginal members of the vagrant subculture, lacking social margin (i.e.