Social fragmentation, deprivation and urbanicity: Relation to first-admission rates for psychoses

J. Allardyce*, H. Gilmour, J. Atkinson, T. Rapson, J. Bishop, R. G. McCreadie

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Background: Social disorganisation, fragmentation and isolation have long been posited as influencing the rate of psychoses at area level. Measuring such societal constructs is difficult. A census-based index measuring social fragmentation has been proposed. Aims: To investigate the association between first-admission rates for psychosis and area-based measures of social fragmentation, deprivation and urban/rural index. Method: We used indirect standardisation methods and logistic regression models to examine associations of social fragmentation, deprivation and urban/rural categories with first admissions for psychoses in Scotland for the 5-year period 1989-1993. Results: Areas characterised by high social fragmentation had higher first-ever admission rates for psychosis independent of deprivation and urban/rural status. There was a dose-response relationship between social fragmentation category and first-ever admission rates for psychosis. There was no statistically significant interaction between social fragmentation, deprivation and urban/ rural index. Conclusions: First-admission rates are strongly associated with measures of social fragmentation, independent of material deprivation and urban/rural category.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)401-406
Number of pages6
JournalBritish Journal of Psychiatry
Volume187
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2005

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Social fragmentation, deprivation and urbanicity: Relation to first-admission rates for psychoses'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this