ABSTRACT
The first chapter in this section was concerned with evaluating the effects of the innovated subsociety upon the length of stay, full-time employment, and the psychological and social adjustment of those who participated in it. It is now appropriate to turn our attention to two other important variables that were suspected from the outset as factors likely to have a marked effect upon the community adjustment of persons in the study—volunteering and chronicity. From previous studies, it seemed most probable that the more chronic patients would make a poorer adjustment in the community except for those in the lodge subsystem who had specific aid in helping them adjust (Fairweather, 1960, 1964; Fairweather and Simon, 1963). Since the sample was almost entirely a chronically hospitalized group (p. 32), it also seemed highly probable that many individuals would not volunteer because they might fear leaving the hospital. Those who refused to volunteer might be similar individuals to the volunteers and would not therefore adjust any better in the community. This assessment of the possible effects of chronicity and volunteering led to the formulation of the following two specific hypotheses (p. 28).
