RESEARCH WEEKLY: Social Satisfaction Leads to Personal Recovery for Serious Mental Illness
By Kelli South
(August 17, 2022) Increased social satisfaction, along with increased autonomy, can improve the likelihood of recovery for a person with serious mental illness, according to a new study released in Schizophrenia Bulletin Open. While many experts note the importance of socialization and satisfaction for those with serious mental illness, fewer have focused on the importance of autonomy for these individuals. The authors found that, despite their contrary initial hypothesis, living alone was a protective factor for recovery for individuals with serious mental illness.
Study details
Using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) survey, a study that examines tobacco use effects on individuals living in the United States, the authors analyzed the most recent survey data collected from 2018-2019. The final sample size for the study was 710 respondents, all above the age of 18.
The outcome measured for this analysis was based on the survey item: “Self-perception of mental health now compared with 12 months ago,” where participants rated their perception of their mental health recovery on a scale from “worse” to “better” than it was one year ago. The authors note that they are the first study to utilize this specific dataset to study psychosis outcomes.
Results
The authors broke down their findings into two categories: internal and external factors associated with increased perceived mental health recovery in the past year. They found that internal factors that predicted an increased recovery were being younger, having less frequent feelings of panic and having increased social satisfaction. The external factors that were found to positively impact recovery were having a higher income, working more hours and living alone. The social satisfaction measure had the strongest association with personal recovery compared to all the other factors that the authors measured.
Implications
Those surveyed who were the most satisfied with their relationships were found to be the most likely to also say that their mental health had improved over the past year. Given the strength of the relationship between social satisfaction and personal recovery, the authors note the importance of this factor for those seeking personal recovery from their serious mental illness. This relationship was even stronger than the relationship between personal recovery and the existence of mental health symptoms, like depression, restlessness and difficulty paying attention, implying that an individual’s perception of their recovery was based more on how they viewed their relationships than how they viewed their symptoms.
The study authors predicted that living alone would cause a decline in mental health symptoms over the past year but found the opposite to be true: living alone significantly increased the likelihood that a person perceived their mental health had improved over the year. The authors posit that this may be because living alone increases social satisfaction, possibly because it decreases the amount of mental illness stigma that one may encounter and because individuals with serious mental illness tend to be less social than the general population. This finding suggests that some individuals with serious mental illness may benefit from housing assistance that still allows them to live alone, rather than in a group setting. Though needs can vary by individual, the authors note that this finding should be a consideration for those who work with individuals experiencing psychosis and those leaving the hospital after a psychotic episode.
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