Knowledge About Psychosocial Interventions Among Individuals With Severe Mental Illness: Results of a Cross-Sectional...

Severe mental illness (SMI) is frequently accompanied by substantial impairments in psychosocial functioning. Psychosocial interventions (PSI), therefore, represent an essential component of evidence-based treatment. A key prerequisite for the utilization is adequate knowledge. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge about PSI among individuals with SMI. A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted among individuals with SMI aged 18 to 65 years (n = 397). Knowledge of PSI, along with sociodemographic, clinical and additional contextual characteristics was assessed. Linear regression analyses were performed to examine associations between PSI knowledge and potential predictors. Overall, participants with SMI were familiar with an average of 10 out of the 17 assessed interventions. Better knowledge was associated with the presence of a chronic physical illness (p = .027), a longer duration of psychiatric problems (p = .030) and higher GAF scores (p = .010). In contrast, having experienced divorce, separation, or widowhood compared to being single (p = .040), as well as having a migration background (p = .003), were associated with lower levels of knowledge. The findings highlight the need for more targeted dissemination of guideline-based information on PSI to individuals with SMI.