Occupational roles and life satisfaction in psychiatric outpatients with vocational disabilities

OBJECTIVES: To investigate: 1) internalization of occupational roles and 2) levels of satisfaction in psychiatric outpatients with vocational disability. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty subjects, 8 men and 12 women, aged 20-55, participated in the study. The past, present and expected values of 10 occupational roles were identified. Levels of satisfaction with life as whole and on eight different domains were reported on a six-step scale ranging from very dissatisfied to very satisfied. RESULTS: The student and worker roles were not part of current life, in contrast to the past (5 years ago) and the expected future. The roles of family member and home maintainer were the most appreciated both in the past and at present. All of the participants expected to add both number and level of role involvement in the future. No-one were satisfied with life as whole. All but one were dissatisfied with their vocational and financial situations. Most were also dissatisfied with their leisure situation, family life, partnership relations, sexual life, and contacts with friends. CONCLUSIONS: The low levels of satisfaction with life as whole and the different domains reflect the disadvantageous situation of the participants in the study. The low number of occupational roles and the low level of meaningful role involvement support the associations between occupational roles and life satisfaction. It is suggested that occupational role assessment would be an important focus in occupational therapy to help people to more adaptive daily routines and to improve their quality of life.