The relationships of personal resources with symptom severity and psychosocial functioning in persons with schizophrenia: results from the Italian Network for Research on Psychoses study

Abstract

The relationships of personal resources with symptom severity and psychosocial functioning have never been tested systematically in a large sample of people with schizophrenia. We applied structural equation models to a sample of 921 patients with schizophrenia collected in a nationwide Italian study, with the aim to identify, among a large set of personal resources, those that may have an association with symptom severity or psychosocial functioning. Several relevant demographic and clinical variables were considered concurrently. Poor service engagement and poor recovery style, as well as older age and younger age at onset, were related to greater symptom severity and poorer social functioning. Higher resilience and higher education were related to better social functioning only. Poor problem-focused coping and internalized stigma, as well as male gender and depression, were related to symptom severity only. The explored variables showed distinctive and partially independent associations with symptom severity and psychosocial functioning. A deeper understanding of these relationships may inform treatment decisions.

Quality of life and its social determinants for patients with schizophrenia and family caregivers in Cambodia

“…Since most of the patients used haloperidol and/or chlorpromazine in the present study, a lower dosage, rather than the use of atypical antipsychotics [68], seemed to be a key factor for better QoL. There were no correlations or significant differences between the socio-demographic factors and the CD-RISC-10 score; however, the patients with a paid occupation were more resilient according to the S-Qol 18 score, which was consistent with the results of previous studies [42,61,[66][67][68][69]. DUP, which affects QoL at the first visit to a medical institution [70], did not influence any QoL domains among our sample patient population who had already received psychiatric treatment.…”

“…The results implied that lower social functioning did not necessarily equate to higher subjective QoL. The patients with paid occupations showed significantly better QoL scores, which led us to believe that the critical factor for better QoL is paid work, which is congruent with previous studies [42,61,[66][67][68][69]. As expected, patients with paid occupations showed lower PANSS-6 scores than those with unpaid occupations or who were unemployed.…”

“…Years of schooling did not correlate with QoL, and literacy significantly influenced only the SL dimension. Generally, higher education was related to better social functioning [66]; however, it did not seem to be a predominant factor for improving QoL in the Cambodian population. Regarding the generation gap, those who were born after the KR era showed better QoL and better family relationships, although their negative symptoms were more severe than those of people born during and before the KR era.…”

“…In the multiple regression analysis, engaging in paid occupation predicted higher QoL in patients with schizophrenia. This factor was found to be related to better QoL in the bivariate analyses used by previous studies [42,61,[66][67][68][69], and it was stated as a predictor of QoL by the multiple regression analysis used by one study in the Czech Republic [67]. Work plays a particularly important role in defining an individual's identity [71], so the double discrimination due to unemployment and mental health problems is particularly harmful [72].…”

Long-Acting Injectable Second-Generation Antipsychotics Improve Negative Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation in Recent Diagnosed Schizophrenia Patients: A 1-Year Follow-up Pilot Study

“…In fact, whereas clinical recovery improved in both groups, personal recovery improved only in the recent SZ group. In schizophrenia, personal recovery interferes with both symptom reduction and social functioning [ 49 ] and it has been recently found that suicide ideation is less prevalent among individuals with schizophrenia that self-reported greater recovery [ 50 ]. McGlashan [ 51 ] conceptualized the subjective experience of psychosis as a continuum of recovery styles.…”