Quality of life for adults with mental illness : effect of residential environment

This study examined the relationship between residential environment and subjective quality of life (QOL) for individuals with mental illness. Demographic variables impacting QOL were also examined. The Wisconsin Quality of Life Index---Canadian Version (CaW QLI, Diaz & Mercier, 1996) was administered to a total of 46 participants and was used to assess the QOL of individuals living in a supported residential environment as compared to individuals living in other types of environments.The major findings were: (1) psychiatric consumers/survivors in the supported residential environment reported higher QOL scores in 4 of the 9 domains examined; (2) residents living in a supported housing facility were more likely to be involved in a greater number of daily activities; (3) education was strongly correlated with 4 of the 9 QOL domains; (4) regression analyses however showed that residential environment or demographic variables on their own did not have a significant effect on QOL. Further research is required to delineate the relationships between residential environment, demographic variables and QOL