The National Institute of Mental Health Longitudinal Study of Chronic Schizophrenia aimed to assess the course, prognosis, and predictors of outcome of chronic Schizophrenia. All participants had diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder at the time of discharge, and had been hospitalised for research purposes at the four East Inpatient Unit Clinical Center at the National Institute of Mental Health from 1976 to 1984. Of the 74 eligible participants, five refused to participate, three had committed suicide before the start of the study, seven could not be located, and one was a victim of homicide, resulting in a sample of 58 participants at baseline. The study used data from the participants' inpatient admission to the Clinical Center and followed up with the participants between 2 and 12 years later.