The Drift Hypothesis and Socioeconomic Differentials in Schizophrenia

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Abstract
This study of first admissions of schizophrenic patients from the city of Buffalo to mental hospitals demonstrates that the higher schizophrenia rates in low-income areas are not the result of downward mobility or drift from a higher status. Further, the study fails to confirm that high rates in poor sections result from recent migration into these areas of mobile men who live alone. Comparison of a group of schizophrenics and matched controls shows no significant differences in upward mobility between 1925 and 1950, suggesting that relative drift does not account for concentration of schizophrenics in low-income neighborhoods. However, there is some question regarding adequacy of the control used. It is emphasized, that socioeconomic differences in schizophrenia may offer significant clues to etiology and eventual control of the disease.

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