Social interaction among people with psychiatric disabilities – Does attending a day centre matter?

Abstract

Background: Engaging in social interaction has, for people with psychiatric disabilities, been shown to enhance well-being and the experience of meaning and to generally prevent the worsening of mental illness. Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate how day centre attendees differed from non-attendees regarding different aspects of social interaction and to investigate how occupational factors, including day centre attendance, and previously known predictors were related to social interaction in the study sample as a whole. Methods: A total of 93 day centre attendees and 82 non-attendees with psychiatric disabilities were examined regarding social interaction, subjective perception of occupation, activity level, sense of self-mastery and socio-demographic and clinical variables. Data were analysed with non-parametric statistics, mainly logistic regression. Results: Social support was mainly provided by informal caregivers such as family members. The day centre attendees had more social relations but did not experience better quality or closeness in their relationships than non-attendees. Important factors for social interaction were subjective perceptions of daily occupation, being married/cohabiting, self-mastery and severity of psychiatric symptoms. Conclusion: Alternative ways of enhancing social interactions in the community is needed, targeting the group’s feeling of satisfaction and value in daily life together with self-mastery.

Outcomes of a Freedom of Choice Reform in Community Mental Health Day Center Services

“…According to previous research, such a match has been found to be vital for client satisfaction and engagement (Leufstadius, Eklund, & Erlandsson, 2009;Rebeiro & Cook, 1999;Tjörnstrand et al, 2011). Finally, since research has shown that one of the main advantages with attending a day center is an increased number of social contacts (Argentzell et al, 2013) one can also expect a change in that respect. It could thus be anticipated that the day center attendees' ratings of empowerment, social contacts and satisfaction with the day center services would improve with the free choice reform.…”

“…Furthermore, comparative studies have shown that day center attendees tend to have more valued activities than non-attendees, but that they were not more satisfied with everyday activities in general (Argentzell, Leufstadius, & Eklund, 2012). The day center attendees also had a larger number of social contacts in general, but not more close ones (Argentzell, Leufstadius, & Eklund, 2013). A conclusion might thus be that effective day centers promote empowerment, activity and social interaction, and when evaluating the outcomes of reforms and other types of interventions these variables would be adequate outcome measures.…”

Socially Valued Roles, Self‐Determination, and Community Participation among Individuals Living with Serious Mental Illnesses

“…Negative internalized perceptions result in fear, apathy, low self‐esteem, and meaninglessness (Hinshaw & Cicchetti, ; Perlick, ). As a result, these individuals occupy devalued roles in society, remain isolated from mainstream society, and excessively rely on mental health professional caregivers for social connections (Argentzell, Leufstadius, & Eklund, ; Tsai, Desai, & Rosenheck, ).…”

Quality of life among people with psychiatric disabilities attending community‐based day centres or Clubhouses

“…Satisfaction with daily occupations was the dominant variable in explaining different QOL domains, especially the specific domains’ satisfaction with leisure and work, and the summed satisfaction with all life domains (QOL Index). A further study comparing DC attendees with nonattendees found no differences regarding any aspects of QOL .…”