Subjective quality of life and standard of living: a 10-year follow-up of out-patients with schizophrenia.

In 1984, a study in Goteborg, Sweden, reported the quality of life of 61 out-patients with schizophrenia (DSM-III) to be low, despite their high standard of living. The respondents used an instrument (QLS-100) developed by the author to indicate which of 100 items they considered to be unsatisfactory. Interviews captured objective conditions of the patients' lives and their quality-of-life goals for each unsatisfactory item. The results of the study led during the late 1980s to deliberately individualized services, aimed at helping patients to attain their own quality-of-life goals. In total, 40 of the subjects took part in a 10-year follow-up. The 1994 study showed that the incidence of living alone in one's own home increased. Overall quality of life remained unchanged. Although still low, quality of life increased significantly in three of 14 domains, namely contacts, inner experiences, and knowledge and education. The reasons for these improvements and the maintained overall quality of life could be that patients increased their ability to interact with the environment, that they increased and/or modified their aspirations in the light of available resources and/or deficits, and that housekeeping assistance and service were provided conditional on the patients' own quality-of-life goals and needs.