Background: Studies of mental health problems of homeless people have used diagnosis as the sole measure of these problems. In this study, the feasibility and reliability of measuring social disablement in the psychiatric assessment of homeless people was investigated.
Method: A random sample of 101 homeless men living in four long-stay hostels were assessed for their social disablement by the Social Behaviour Schedule (SBS). The prevalence of SBS problems in these men and the interobserver reliability were assessed.
Results: The results show that the SBS is a reliable screening instrument which is relatively easy to use. The most frequent SBS problems were 'Other problems', 'Hostility' and 'Depression". Less than 10% of the hostel sample had disablement items similar to those of patients in long-stay wards.
Conclusions: The SBS is a useful and reliable tool in the psychiatric assessment of men in hostels for the homeless.