Happiness in first-episode schizophrenia
Schizophrenia Research, 08/21/2012
Agid O et al. – Despite marked functional impairment, individuals with first–episode schizophrenia are as happy as controls. Mechanisms that might allow for this are discussed, as are the implications for rehabilitation efforts that assume an individual holds to the same drives and goals as before the illness onset and/or is unhappy with their present functional status.
Methods- Thirty-one first-episode remitted patients and 29 age- and sex-matched controls participated in the study.
- Patients' clinical status was assessed and a series of self-report questionnaires were used to measure levels of happiness, life satisfaction, success and functioning in both patients and controls.
- Patients experienced marked functional impairment versus healthy controls (p<0.001), while reporting comparable levels of happiness (p=0.113) and satisfaction with life (p=0.350).
- In the patient group, the authors found that higher happiness ratings were significantly associated with less depression, less negative symptoms, less social withdrawal, greater life satisfaction, and higher social and occupational functioning.
- Both cognitive functioning and insight had no significant direct effects on ratings of happiness in the patient group.
