Motivational and cognitive factors linked to community integration in homeless veterans: study 1 - individuals with...

Little is known about the determinants of community integration (i.e. recovery) for individuals with a history of homelessness, yet such information is essential to develop targeted interventions.

We recruited homeless Veterans with a history of psychotic disorders and evaluated four domains of correlates of community integration: perception, non-social cognition, social cognition, and motivation. Baseline assessments occurred after participants were engaged in supported housing services but before they received housing, and again after 12 months. Ninety-five homeless Veterans with a history of psychosis were assessed at baseline and 53 returned after 12 months. We examined both cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships with 12-month community integration.

The strongest longitudinal association was between a baseline motivational measure and social integration at 12 months. We also observed cross-sectional associations at baseline between motivational measures and community integration, including social, work, and independent living. Cross-lagged panel analyses did not suggest causal associations for the motivational measures. Correlations with perception and non-social cognition were weak. One social cognition measure showed a significant longitudinal correlation with independent living at 12 months that was significant for cross-lagged analysis, consistent with a causal relationship and potential treatment target.

The relatively selective associations for motivational measures differ from what is typically seen in psychosis, in which all domains are associated with community integration. These findings are presented along with a partner paper (Study 2) to compare findings from this study to an independent sample without a history of psychotic disorders to evaluate the consistency in findings regarding community integration across projects.