Active Occupational Participation of People with Schizophrenia Living in the Community

The purpose of this research is to explore the form, function, and meaning of occupations of people with schizophrenia living in the community in Japan using descriptive and inferential quantitative and also qualitative methods. The forms were explored through study of their reported time use and experience of stress in various categories of occupation. Another part of the study focused on the function of occupational choices as adaptive strategies to manage stress and the meanings of the occupations to the informants. Quantitative analysis showed that 89 participants with schizophrenia chose to participate in not only passive occupational categories but also active occupational categories such as selecting Work, Co-op shop, Play, Socialization and Homemaking. Whether having work-related routine or not, also influenced the time use of the people with schizophrenia in this study. Qualitative analysis revealed that participants coped with daily living occupations using two main stress management strategies. First, some chose occupations such as Sleep, Music, TV, and Leisure, through which they relieved or reduced stress. Second, some chose other occupations including work-related routine (Work, Co-op shop, Day care) or Homemaking, even though they are stressful, because they felt these occupations positively influence life satisfaction, energy management, provide time structure, and assist in promoting health. Designing a lifestyle made up of daily occupations enacting each person\u27s concept of a healthy self led informants to actively participate in a variety of occupations. Stress in those daily occupations was managed through overcoming difficulties of believing I can\u27t and I feel fatigued to develop a sense of I can do it and conditioning themselves through persevering in their daily life, managing energy for and through participation. The daily life of informants was an attempt to move toward their concept of a healthy self through occupation. Hence, this study will provide the knowledge to help people with schizophrenia have opportunity to participate in occupations and maintain health in the community