[Psicosocial rehabilitation in schizophrenia: variables related with rehabilitation]

The interest of vocational rehabilitation and integration in patients with chronic mental illness has grown in the last few decades. Different studies has tried identify predictors of vocational outcome with controversial results. In spite of the growing development of this field, there's a lack of studies in Spain looking for specific predictor variables of vocational outcome in schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to identify variables associated to vocational outcome in a social-vocational rehabilitation program (INICIA).

Two groups of subjects participating in a social-vocational rehabilitation program were selected based on different vocational outcomes. Sociodemographics, clinic, cognitive variables, social competence, basal work skills, and family variables, all assessed at intake, were compared between both groups.

In our study, good initial scores in memory, comprehension, social and vocational skills, as well as, lower basal scores in tests of general psychopathology and psychotic symptomatology, were associated with a better vocational outcome. Patients with good insight and with lower number of previous admissions also showed better outcomes.

Initial scores in different domains could be a useful guide to predict the outcome in some of the current rehabilitation programs. We come to the conclusion about the importance of developing future research studies about predictors of vocational outcome in patients with severe mental illness in our country.