Predicting employment status and subjective quality of life in patients with schizophrenia

Publication date: March 2016 Source:Schizophrenia Research: Cognition, Volume 3 Author(s): Haruo Fujino, Chika Sumiyoshi, Tomiki Sumiyoshi, Yuka Yasuda, Hidenaga Yamamori, Kazutaka Ohi, Michiko Fujimoto, Ryota Hashimoto, Masatoshi Takeda, Osamu Imura Although impaired social functioning, particularly poor employment status, is a cardinal feature of patients with schizophrenia and leads to decreased quality of life (QOL), few studies have addressed the relationship between these two clinical issues. The aim of this study was to determine whether employment status predicts subjective QOL and to evaluate a model in which functional capacity mediates the relationship between general cognitive performance and employment status. Ninety-three patients with schizophrenia were administered a comprehensive battery of cognitive tests, the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment-Brief version (UPSA-B), the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), and the Subjective Quality of Life Scale (SQLS). First, we evaluated a model for predicting the employment/occupation subscale score of the SFS using path analysis, and the model fitted well (χ 2 (4)=3.6, p =0.46; CFI=1.0; RMSEA<0.001, with 90% CIs: 0–0.152). Employment status was predicted by negative symptoms and functional capacity, which was in turn predicted by general cognitive performance. Second, we added subjective QOL to this model. In a final path model, QOL was predicted by negative symptoms and employment s...
Source: Schizophrenia Research: Cognition - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research