Perceived stigma and quality of life of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and receiving psychiatric rehabilitation services: a comparison between the clubhouse model and a rehabilitation skills training model in South Korea.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the perceived stigma toward, and quality of life of, individuals diagnosed with a mental illness in South Korea, and how these two variables related to the clubhouse model and the rehabilitation skills training model in psychiatric rehabilitation.
METHOD: In August 2007, a self-report survey questionnaire regarding perceived stigma (Perceived Stigma Scale; PSS) and perceived quality of life (Korean Quality of Life; K-QOL) was administered to 521 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, who, at the time, had been participating in one of the two different models of psychiatric rehabilitation for over 3 months.
RESULTS: The participants in the clubhouse model group reported significantly lower PSS scores and significantly higher K-QOL scores than did the recipients of the rehabilitation skills training model. Participants in the clubhouse model reported significantly higher interpersonal relationship scores in K-QOL than did the recipients of the rehabilitation skills training model. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The individuals who participated in the clubhouse model reported significantly lower scores of perceived stigma and higher scores of perceived quality of life than did those who participated in the rehabilitation skills training model. These findings suggest that active participation, self-determination, and increased roles in rehabilitation programs as experienced in these programs in South Korea will be effective in decreasing perceived stigma and promoting quality of life in individuals diagnosed with mental illness.