Abstract
SYNOPSIS A one-year follow-up of 127 schizophrenic patients admitted to psychiatric hospitals in 1968–69, who had spent at least three months in the community during the year following their admission, revealed that regular taking of medication is the most crucial single factor leading to improvement in the psychiatric status of the patient, regardless of whether he was living in a positive or a negative environment. No difference was found between family of origin and nuclear family, but family setting tended to influence either improvement or deterioration of the patient, whilst patients living in a non-family setting remained predominantly unchanged. The progress of southern European patients was poorer than all the others, independently of their family setting and medication.