Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Dysfunction among People with Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND: Life skills are the basic skills that are needed to live independently and that support meaningful, productive roles. The negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction seen in schizophrenia may lead to deterioration in the life skills of the patient. The assessment of current life skills of the patient and subsequent intervention becomes necessary for comprehensive rehabilitation of people with mental illness. This study attempted to assess the instrumental activities of daily living among people with schizophrenia in India. METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients with schizophrenia, between 18 and 60 years, who presented to a tertiary psychiatric facility were assessed using (i) Lawton instrumental activities of daily living scale (LIADL), (ii) positive and negative symptom scale (PANSS), (iii) pro forma for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS: = 0.005) correlated inversely with the total LIADL score; PANSS scores and sociodemographic variables were associated with some subscales of LIADL. CONCLUSIONS: IADL dysfunction, common in people with schizophrenia, demands detailed assessment, and tailored training to ensure optimum functioning.