title: Modeling self-agency among people with schizophrenia: empirical evidence for consumer-based recovery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self-agency--the awareness of one's own capacity to make decisions and to engage in deliberate action - is often interfered with or lost during the course of severe mental illness. Most existing literature on self-agency is either of experimental or qualitative nature, and empirical evidence is scanty.
  
  
  METHODS
  This paper draws on a subset of empirical data from a larger recovery study that involved 204 people with schizophrenia in the community. Structural equation models are built to contrast the models with and without the contribution of self-agency.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The self-agency factor loads significantly on variables from five major areas of recovery (hope, empowerment, resilience, self-responsibility and self-mastery). Structural equation models show that the incorporation of this self-agency construct has vastly improved the modeling of the adverse effect of stigma on the quality of life of these subjects. The model with self-agency fitted the criteria better, and explained more total variance (increased from 56 to 80%) for the quality of life of these subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cross-sectional empirical findings appear to support the claim that self-agency is an important construct that cuts through many dimensions of recovery. Initial discussions are made on the nature and function of self-agency, and its relations with recovery concepts and components.
authors: Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
authors: Marcus Yu-Lung
authors: MY
authors: Chiu
authors: Larry
authors: L
authors: Davidson
authors: William Tak-Lam
authors: WT
authors: Lo
authors: Michael Gar-Chung
authors: MG
authors: Yiu
authors: Winnie Wing-Nan
authors: WW
authors: Ho
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011788:Quality of Life; D012380:Role; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D057545:Social Stigma