Predictors of Personal Recovery Among People With Mental Illness in the Chinese Community: A Cross-Sectional Study

Personal recovery, a dynamic process of rebuilding identity and purpose beyond mental illness, remains underexplored within China's mental health system, which predominantly prioritizes clinical recovery.

To assess personal recovery among Chinese urban community-dwelling individuals with mental illness and to identify its predictors, including socio-demographic factors, self-stigma, and heterogeneous clinical recovery patterns.

Cross-sectional study was conducted. 227 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia or mood disorders were recruited from community mental health outpatient services in Shanghai, China. Participants were invited to complete the questionnaire, which included items on personal recovery, clinical recovery, and self-stigma. Latent Profile Analysis was applied to identify heterogeneous clinical recovery patterns, and hierarchical regression analysis was subsequently used to examine predictors of personal recovery.

Results indicated moderate personal recovery among participants with mental illness. Latent Profile Analysis identified four distinct clinical recovery profiles: Stable, Interpersonal-Emotion, Interpersonal-Abuse, and High-Risk. Regression revealed higher education, full self-awareness ability, and membership in the Stable Class of clinical recovery significantly predicted better personal recovery.

Culturally tailored interventions should integrate psychosocial support with clinical care, particularly targeting on populations with low educational attainment, those with suboptimal clinical recovery outcomes, and individuals experiencing self-stigma.

Personal recovery plays a pivotal role in facilitating the social reintegration of individuals with mental illnesses who remain concealed within community settings. These findings offer scientific evidence to inform mental healthcare professionals in developing targeted rehabilitation support interventions.