The social functioning of older adults with schizophrenia

A cross-sectional survey of the social functioning of community dwelling older adults was undertaken. Older adults with no psychiatric morbidity, depressed older adults and older adults with schizophrenia were surveyed to see if there were differences in the level of social functioning of the three groups. The setting was two old age psychiatric services, one in an urban area of London and the other in a semi-rural area of Leicestershire. Participants consisted of depressed (n = 81) or normal (n = 101) older persons identified as part of a general practice over 75 years check and clients over 65 years with schizophrenia (n = 30) known to mental health teams for older adults. All participants were interviewed by one of two trained researchers and completed the Mini-Mental State Examination questionnaire, the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, a social functioning questionnaire, and the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry or the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. In our sample population, community dwelling older persons without any psychiatric diagnosis were the least isolated from their local community, reported more private leisure activities, and had the least contact with professional community services. Clients with schizophrenia reported more isolation from their local community and fewer private leisure activities than clients with a diagnosis of depression.