Self-care actions of chronic schizophrenics associated with meeting solitude and social interaction requisites

Solitude becomes a way of life and social interaction a scarce commodity for many chronic schizophrenics who are in institutional settings. This article describes the self-care actions associated with meeting solitude and social interaction requisites as reported by 10 institutionalized chronic schizophrenics. Eighteen solitude self-care actions and 10 social interaction self-care actions emerged from the interview data. The solitude self-care actions clustered around two distinct categories: distancing and organizing. The social interaction self-care actions clustered around one category, managing situations. The implications of this study extend to anyone who is in the position of providing care and support to an individual diagnosed as a chronic schizophrenic. Additional research is suggested to increase the generalizability of the findings of this study and to isolate conditions related to Orem's (1985) sets of actions for maintenance of a balance between solitude and social interaction.