Personality and self-variables:: important determinants of subjective quality of life in schizophrenia out-patients

Objective: To investigate factors determining severely mentally ill patients' self-rated quality of life. The study hypothesized that objective life circumstances, personality, self-variables, and psychopathology would be determinants of quality of life. Method: A total of 117 individuals with schizophrenia and related disorders were investigated. Structural equation modelling was used to: 1) investigate if one or more subfactors best described the covariance within each potential determinant and quality of life, 2) explore the relations between all variables and factors extracted in step 1. Results: A multi-factorial model indicated that a self-factor and two psychopathology factors worked as mediators of self-rated quality of life, in turn composed of an internal and an external aspect. Personality dimensions and objective life circumstances accounted directly or indirectly for substantial parts of quality of life. Conclusion: The relative importance of individual characteristics and objective indices was shown. Trait-like properties, such as the self-factor and personality, explained most of the variation in self-rated quality of life.