Subjective and objective indicators of recovery in severe mental illness: a cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
This study aimed to determine whether subjective dimensions of recovery such as empowerment are associated with self-report of more objective indicators such as level of participation in the community and income from employment. A secondary aim was to investigate the extent to which diagnosis or other consumer characteristics mediated any relationship between these variables.


METHODS
The Community Integration Measure, the Empowerment Scale, the Recovery Assessment Scale, and the Camberwell Assessment of Needs Short Appraisal Schedule were administered to a convenience sample of 161 consumers with severe mental illness.


RESULTS
The majority of participants had a primary diagnosis of schizophreniform, anxiety/depression or bipolar affective disorder. The Empowerment Scale was quite strongly correlated with the Recovery Assessment Scale and the Community Integration Measure. Participants with a diagnosis of bipolar affective disorder had significantly higher recovery and empowerment scores than participants with schizophrenia or depression. Both empowerment and recovery scores were significantly higher for people engaged in paid employment than for those receiving social security benefits.


CONCLUSIONS
The measurement of subjective dimensions of recovery such as empowerment has validity in evaluation of global recovery for people with severe mental illness. A diagnosis of bipolar disorder is associated with higher scores on subjective and objective indicators of recovery.
Lloyd
Chris
C
Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and the School of Population Health, The University of Queensland, Sumner Park BC, Queensland 4074, Australia. chris_lloyd@qcmhr.uq.edu.au
King
Robert
R
Moore
Liz
L
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011793:Queensland; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014481:United States