ORIGINAL PAPER Predictors of clinical and social outcomes following involuntary hospital admission: a prospective observational study Stefan Priebe • Christina Katsakou • Ksenija Yeeles • Tim Amos • Richard Morriss • Duolao Wang • Til Wykes Received: 27 January 2010 / Accepted: 7 December 2010 / Published online: 22 December 2010 Ó Springer-Verlag 2010 Abstract The Study aimed to assess clinical and social outcomes following involuntary admissions over 1 year and identify socio-demographic and clinical patient character- istics associated with more or less favourable outcomes. Seven hundred and seventy-eight involuntary patients admitted to one of 22 hospitals in England were assessed within the first week after admission and at 1 month, 3 month and 12 month follow-ups. Outcome criteria were symptom levels, global functioning, objective social out- comes, and subjective quality of life (SQOL). Baseline characteristics and patients’ initial experience were tested as predictors. Symptom levels and global functioning improved moderately. Objective social outcomes showed a small, but statistically significant deterioration, and SQOL a small, but significant improvement at 1 year. In multivariable analyses, admission due to risk to oneself and receiving benefits predicted poorer symptom outcomes. Female gender and higher perceived coercion were asso- ciated with better objective social outcomes, whilst higher initial satisfaction with treatment predicted more positive SQOL at follow-ups. Over a 1-year period following involuntary hospital admission, patients on average showed only limited health and social gains. Different types of outcomes are associated with different predictor variables. Patients’ initial experience of treatment, in the form of perceived coercion or satisfaction with treatment, has pre- dictive value for up to a year following the admission. Keywords Commitment of mentally ill Á Coercion Á Patient admission Á Outcome assessment (health care) Á Inpatients S. Priebe (&) Á C. Katsakou Á K. Yeeles Unit for Social & Community Psychiatry, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Academic Unit, Cherry Tree Lane, Glen Road, London E13 8SP, UK e-mail: s.priebe@qmul.ac.uk C. Katsakou e-mail: c.katsakou@qmul.ac.uk K. Yeeles e-mail: Ksenija.Yeeles@psych.ox.ac.uk T. Amos Academic Unit of Psychiatry, University of Bristol, Cotham House, Cotham Hill, Bristol BS6 6JL, UK e-mail: tim.amos@bristol.ac.uk R. Morriss School of Community Health Sciences, The Institute of Mental Health, University of Nottingham, Room B09d, The Sir Colin Campbell Building, Triumph Road, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK e-mail: richard.morriss@nottingham.ac.uk D. Wang London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Room 143, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK e-mail: Duolao.Wang@lshtm.ac.uk T. Wykes Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, Box P077, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK e-mail: Til.Wykes@iop.kcl.ac.uk 123 Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci (2011) 261:377–386 DOI 10.1007/s00406-010-0179-x