The influence of self-determination on the social functioning of long-term day hospitals users with schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial.

Aim: In Japan, day hospitals are a method of rehabilitation for psychiatric disorders, especially for recovering social functioning. Currently, 60% of day hospital users have schizophrenia, the majority of whom are long-term users (for over 1 year). However, they show no progress in community participation. This study aimed to investigate whether people with schizophrenia who use day hospitals can improve their social functioning and recovery levels, and alleviate psychiatric symptoms, when they engage in self-determination regularly.

Methods: This study employed a multicenter randomized controlled design with a 3-month intervention. Participants were divided into two groups. The intervention group ( = 24) determined their daily goals in life and attended the day hospitals' programs, while the control group ( = 25) only participated in the day hospitals' programs. Participants' social functioning was assessed using the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale, psychiatric symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and recovery using the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS), before and after the intervention.

Results: In the intergroup factors, there were no significant differences in GAF, PANSS, or RAS scores.

Conclusion: The results suggest that participants' regular self-determination of their daily goals did not lead to significantly positive behavior in improving their social functioning. However, the social functioning and psychiatric symptoms of participants in day hospitals improved after 3 months.