Methods: This was a multinational, multicentre, noninterventional, longitudinal study of patients diagnosed with BD-I or BD-II with 1 mood event in the preceding 12 months, followed-up for 12-27 months (including retrospective and prospective phases). Patients were selected from a cross-sectional sample representative of BD populations in daily clinical practice

Ten individuals with schizophrenia and two with schizoaffective disorder received group training in social skills, including conversation skills, friendship skills, and dating skills as well as problem-solving skills. The training, coupled with case management, was administered twice per week for one hour each session for a total of 5 months. The primaryoutcome measures were the Social Contact and Communication subscales of the Life Skills Profile, the WHOQOL-BREF, and the Self-efficacy/self-esteem subscale of the Empowerment Scale. Based on these, participants’ social functioning, community functioning, and self-efficacy perceptions were assessed respectively. Measures were taken at pre-treatment and post-treatment. Patients’ social functioning andcommunity functioning improved over time whereas self-efficacy beliefs did not significantly change. Patients who completed homework assignments frequently improved more in social contact compared to patients who completed homework assignments infrequently. Findings suggest that social skills training for outpatients with chronic mental illness leads to acquisition of social skills that are important in everyday life. Case management is a critical aspect of treatment that enhances learning and transfer of social skills outside the immediate training setting. Benefits from social skills homework assignments mainly depend on the type of homework.