The influence of marital status on the social dysfunction of schizophrenia patients in community

Abstract

Objective Estimate predictive associations of marital status with social dysfunction in schizophrenia patients. Methods 817 schizophrenia patients lived in the community of Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, were investigated with the Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS) during a three-month period (1.2010-3.2010). The demographic data were harvested. The χ2 test, t test, and fisher's exact were used for comparisons between groups, as appropriate. Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) was used to analyze the predictive associations of demographic variables to the grading of social dysfunctions. Results The study group consisted of male and female patients aged 16-59 years, 407 females, and 410 males with the mean age (40.7 ± 9.5) years. Analysis of the data revealed significant differences in course of disease and marital status among patients (with and without dysfunction). The married patient made a significant difference with divorced/widowed patient in mildly-moderately social dysfunction. There was a significant difference in married and never-married patient with mildly and profoundly social dysfunction. Significant differences were noticed in the self care and occupational roles of the married patient with that of the never-married. Conclusion This study confirmed that bad marital status is associated with higher odds of social dysfunction among patients with schizophrenia living in the community. These effects should be included in considerations of public health investments in preventing and treating mental disorders.