SCHIZOPHRENIA AND QUALITY KEY FACTORS

SCHIZOPHRENIA AND QUALITY-KEY FACTORS

The quality of life (QQL) of people living with schizophrenia in France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain was studied and compared in order to learn about the events and circumstances that affect QQL in these countries. The study’s findings and discussion, appearing in Medscape, concluded that although each country’s resources and care available to the patients differed greatly, the biggest enhancers of quality of life across the boarder were marital status and income.

Other factors found that contributed to an individual’s perception of their quality of life were living conditions, gender, education, and work status, but in varying and not always expected ways.
Marital Status and Income

Having one’s own financial resources powerfully enhances one’s feeling of satisfaction with life, but so too does being in supportive marital relationship. Being in a marital relationship appears to be one of the most important variables in terms of satisfaction for both men and women.

Living Conditions

It was noted that living conditions, such as living arrangements, had an impact on the subjective QOL of individuals. In all studies, the least restrictive living arrangements were associated with better QOL.

Gender

Gender was not found to impact the quality of life of people with schizophrenia in these European countries. This correlated with the results from studies in the United States but contrasted with studies of QOL in Cuba and Canada. In Cuba, being female was found to negatively impact social relationship QOL, whereas in Canada being female conferred a positive influence on the patient’s social QOL.

Education

Although higher levels of education are usually correlated with increased well-being and mental health, the researchers found the inverse to be true when correlating educational status of people with schizophrenia and their subsequent perception of their quality of life.

Work Status

Satisfaction with work status did differ by gender. Working males were the most satisfied group and non-working males the least satisfied. This contrasted greatly with the female group, in which working females expressed less satisfaction across all subjective life domains than did non-working females.