Involvement in productive activities and satisfaction with living situation among severely mentally disabled adults

Eighty-three adults with severe mental disabilities participated in a study examining effects on life satisfaction of having nothing to do, receipt of a housing subsidy, and enrollment in an intensive case management program. The clients were divided into four groups receiving subsidized housing and intensive case management, subsidized housing and nonintensive case management, intensive case management and nonsubsidized housing, and nonintensive case management and nonsubsidized housing. Initially and at ten months, clients reported how much time they spent with nothing to do and their level of satisfaction with supported-living arrangements. A significant association was found between time spent with nothing to do and both satisfaction and change in satisfaction and between having a housing subsidy and satisfaction. Results suggest that getting clients involved in activities of their own choosing would result in much greater increases in satisfaction.