Schizophrenia and reactions towards the deaths of fellow patients in a psychiatric in-patient unit. Some psychological considerations

Abstract

Knudson, H.V. (2004). Schizophrenia and reactions towards the deaths of fellow patients in a psychiatric in-patient unit. Nordisk Psykologi, 56, 3, xxx-xxx. During a period of eight months, five long-term hospitalized patients with a schizophrenia diagnosis died unexpectedly in a ward for chronically ill psychiatric patients. This naturalistic experiment turned out to be a unique opportunity to observe the reactions of the other long-term patients towards these deaths. Two main patterns of responses could be observed: one group, having other diagnoses than schizophrenia or schizophrenia-related illnesses, showed normal reactions along the lines that one would expect within the range of a normal, non-patient population. The other group, consisting exclusively of patients with a chronic schizophrenic illness, could be divided into a sub-group not showing any obvious reactions at all on the one hand and, on the other hand, another sub-group consisting of four patients showing normal emotional reactions towar...