Entering College with a Psychiatric History

A one-year follow-up of academic and medical records was accomplished for 362 students who, over a three-year period, enrolled in college with a history of prior psychiatric treatment. While students with such history who had not interrupted their previous education did as well or better than the class as a whole, those whose education had been interrupted had a significantly higher rate of subsequent difficulty. The authors conclude that psychiatric screening for entering students is justified only when prior psychiatric illness has interrupted education and that efforts now engaged in routine screening might be better directed toward other areas of prevention and treatment.