[Competitive employment in schizophrenia: clinical and neuropsychological correlates and quality of life]

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the relationships among psychopatology, cognitive functioning, quality of life and competitive employment in patients with stable schizophrenia.

Materials and methods: We recruited 143 consecutive outpatients with stable schizophrenia, divided into 2 groups (unemployed and competitive employed subjects). A clinical and a neuropsychological assessments were performed. The differences between the two groups were tested using chi-square test for categorical variables and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables. Variables significantly different between the two groups of subjects were analyzed using a logistic regression with a backward stepwise procedure to assess their independent contribution to competitive employment in the two patients' groups.

Results: The two groups of patients had similar demographic characteristics, except education. Negative symptoms (PANSS-N) and general psychopathology (PANSS-G) were significantly less severe in the group of patients with a competitive employment, that also showed higher scores at the Quality of Life Scale (QLS) and higher scores on verbal memory/learning (CVLT) and attentive functions (Stroop test). Binary logistic regression showed that education, verbal memory/learning and quality of life, were significantly associated with the presence of competitive employment.

Discussion: Our findings confirmed the importance of cognitive function in obtaining competitive employment and highlighted the independent role of quality of life and education on occupational functioning in schizophrenia.