Perceived social support and community adaptation in schizophrenia

Abstract

Prompted by the continuing transition to community care, mental health nurses are considering the role of social support in community adaptation. This article demonstrates the importance of distinguishing between kinds of social support and presents findings from the first round data of a longitudinal study of community adaptation in 156 people with schizophrenia conducted in Brisbane, Australia. All clients were interviewed using the relevant subscales of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule to confirm a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia. The study set out to investigate the relationship between community adaptation and social support. Community adaptation was measured with the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Life Skills Profile (LSP) and measures of dissatisfaction with life and problems in daily living developed by the authors. Social support was measured with the Arizona Social Support Interview Schedule (ASSIS). The BPRS and ASSIS were incorporated into a client interview conducted by trained interviewers. The LSP was completed on each client by an informal carer (parent, relative or friend) or a professional carer (case manager or other health professional) nominated by the client. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between community adaptation and four sets of social support variables. Given the order in which variables were entered in regression equations, a set of perceived social support variables was found to account for the largest unique variance of four measures of community adaptation in 96 people with schizophrenia for whom complete data are available from the first round of the three-wave longitudinal study. A set of the subjective experiences of the clients accounted for the largest unique variance in measures of symptomatology, life skills, dissatisfaction with life, and problems in daily living. Sets of community support, household support and functional variables accounted for less variance. Implications for mental health nursing practice are considered.

The prevalence of nutrition impact symptoms and their relationship to quality of life and clinical outcomes in medical oncology patients

“…A high overall global score for symptoms subscales indicates high symptom prevalence. Life Satisfaction Scale was used to measure global QoL [4]. The scale contains seven items that reflect various dimensions of life satisfaction.…”

Social support and adaptation of Taiwanese adults with mental illness

“…Higher scores indicate a higher level of symptoms. Reliability coefficients for the BPRS range from 0·84 to 0·87 (Sederer & Dickey 1996, Clinton et al . 1998).…”

“…The relationship of social support to stress, adaptation and health outcomes has been widely studied in the general population (Buchanan 1995, Nolan & Clancy 1995, Clinton et al . 1998, Kulhara et al .…”

“…These studies suggest that social support enhances an individual’s ability to cope and adapt with daily life events and stressors. Social support has been found to be important in keeping mentally ill persons functioning well in the community (Hatfield 1979, Thompson & Doll 1982, Hatfield & Lefley 1993, Clinton et al . 1998), in reducing the likelihood of recurrence of mental illness symptoms (Frank et al .…”

Parents and Family Matter

“…46 These environmental stressors may have a direct effect on adolescent outcomes and on parenting efficacy. 45,47,48 Parenting efficacy deterred by these factors can be strengthened by creating supportive relationships with other family members, friends and supportive professionals, and by developing strong cultural and community bonds. 47,48 …”