title: Ten-year quality of life outcomes among patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder II. Predictive value of psychosocial factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify psychosocial predictors of change in health-related quality of life among patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and schizoaffective (SA) disorders over a 10-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a naturalistic longitudinal design, 108 patients with SZ/SA disorders completed a comprehensive rating scale battery including self-reported quality of life, emotional distress symptoms, coping styles, sense of self-efficacy, and social support, as well as observer-rated psychopathology, medication side effects, and general functioning at 2 time points, baseline and 10 years later.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Regression models revealed that reduction in self-reported symptoms of depression, sensitivity or anxiety along with increase in self-efficacy, social support, and emotion-oriented coping scores predicted improvement in domain-specific perceived quality of life. Adjustment of the psychosocial models for the effects of disorder-related factors (psychopathology, functioning, and medication side effects) confirmed the above findings and amplified their statistical power.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the long-term course of severe mental disorders (SZ/SA), changes in the psychosocial factors are stronger predictors of subjective quality of life outcome than disorder-related changes. The findings enable better understanding of the combined effects of psychopathology and psychosocial factors on quality of life outcome over a 10-year period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. ritsner@sm.health.gov.il
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ritsner
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arbitman
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lisker
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ponizovsky
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011584:Psychology; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires