Predicting Dropout from Inpatient Treatment

A combination of factors causes patients to drop out of treatment early, according to the results of a study of 129 adolescent inpatients in a private eating disorders treatment clinic. As Dr. S. Catellani and his colleagues reported at the 19^th European Conference of Psychiatry in Vienna, Austria, this spring, between January 1, 2006 and December 2009, 41 patients voluntarily left treatment and 88 completed treatment at Villa Maria Luigia Hospital, Monticelli Terme, Italy. Patients who dropped out of treatment appeared to be more aggressive, had poorer grades, fewer friends, and less social interaction than did those who finished treatment. In addition, those who dropped out of treatment more commonly had divorced parents, a paternal death, alcohol abuse, or a mother with a history of an eating disorder. Having religious beliefs seemed to be a protective factor.