Time use of people with schizophrenia living in North London: Predictors of participation in occupations and their implications for improving social inclusion

Abstract

Background: How people spend their time is one indicator of community participation.

Aims: This study aimed to identify illness-related and socio-demographic predictors of the participation of people with schizophrenia.

Method: Time use for 24 hours was gathered from a representative community sample (n = 192) of people with schizophrenia in London. Logistic regressions were conducted to examine predictors of participation in vocation-related, social and leisure occupations.

Results: Symptoms were not predictive of participation in any occupation examined. Age was an important predictor of involvement in most occupations: younger age predicting vocation-related (odds ratio (OR) = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.06) and social (OR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96 – 1.00) participation, while older age predicted active (OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 1.00 – 1.05) and passive (OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01 – 1.07) leisure participation. Living alone strongly predicted passive leisure participation (OR = 3.71; 95% CI: 1.05 – 13.07).

Conclusions: Age-related barriers to involvement in leisure, education and workforce participation merit further exploration. Strategies to diminish these barriers should be part of policies and actions directed towards more inclusive participation of people with schizophrenia within their communities. Also, strategies to improve social connectedness should attend to the needs of those who live alone.

Declaration of interest: None.

Keywords:

• Time use
• community participation
• schizophrenia
• population
• disability