An outcome in need of clarity: building a predictive model of subjective quality of life for persons with severe mental illness living in the community.

Purpose: The study purpose was to construct a predictive model of subjective quality of life for persons with severe mental illness living in the community with particular attention to participation in occupations.

Method: Persons with severe mental illness (N=154) rated their subjective quality of life. Several measures for each of the following categories of variables were completed: demographics, clinical, social participation, and self-measured well-being. Regression analysis was used to determine the significant predictors for each category and then to build the predictive model from these significant variables.

Results: Symptom distress accounted for the most variance (33%) in subjective quality of life, followed by psychological integration (3%) and physical integration (2%).

Conclusions: The study suggests that occupational therapists should attend to subjective experience of symptoms to influence quality of life. Therapists are also in a good position to address their clients' sense of belonging to their communities and to enable community participation.