title: Social support, activities, and recovery from serious mental illness: STARS study findings.
abstract: Research on the role of social support in recovery from severe mental illness is limited and even more limited is research on the potential effects of participating in various activities. This study explores these relationships by analyzing baseline data from a 153-participant subsample in the Study of Transitions and Recovery Strategies. Higher scores on the recovery assessment scale were related to both social support/network size and engagement in more activities. The particular nature of the activities (more/less social, more/less physically active, inside/outside the home) was not important, rather, activities of any type were related to recovery. Furthermore, engagement in activities was more important as levels of social support declined. The results suggest that both social support and activities may promote recovery, and that for persons with poor social support, engagement in a variety of individualized activities may be particularly beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Institute for Health Policy Research, West Virginia University, PO Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA. mhendryx@hsc.wvu.edu
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hendryx
authors.forename: Carla A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Nancy A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Perrin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009922:Oregon; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult