Predictors of life engagement in patients with schizophrenia

Objective. To study predictors of life engagement in patients with schizophrenia. Material and methods. The study examined 403 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Their life engagement was assessed using the 14-item Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-14): P2, N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6, N7, G6, G7, G11, G13, G15, and G16. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) scale. The Clinical Global Impression (CGI) was used to assess the patients’ overall condition, symptom severity (CGI-S), and changes during therapy (CGI-I). Results. Among the significant predictors of decreased life engagement in patients with schizophrenia were a longer history of the disease (p=0.021), the severity of psychopathological symptoms (p=0.023), the CGI-S score (p=0.001), a less pronounced improvement during therapy measured by CGI-I (p<0.001), as well as lower scores of cognitive functioning by BACS (p=0.041). In addition, among the significant «cognitive» predictors of life engagement were working memory (p=0.013) and attention (p=0.004). Conclusion. The results of the study indicate that life engagement in patients with schizophrenia is associated with several clinical features, which emphasizes its multilevel and complex nature. Optimization of psychopharmacotherapy and the use of specialized cognitive remediation methods can be an effective strategy not only for reducing the severity of schizophrenia symptoms, but also for improving the quality of life of patients, contributing to their adaptation and increasing their life engagement.