Relationships between social functioning and quality of life in a population of Dutch adult psychiatric outpatients

Background: The relationship between social functioning and QOL in psychiatric patients has not been explicitly investigated before. Aims: To investigate the relationship between social functioning and QOL in a population of psychiatric outpatients (N = 410) with a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Method: Social functioning was assessed with the Groningen Social Behavior Questionnaire-100 (GSBQ-100) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. QOL was measured with the WHO Quality of Life Assessment Instrument (WHOQOL-100). Results: The study population experienced a wide range of problems concerning all aspects of social functioning. The numbers of problems were significantly higher compared with healthy controls and (partly) also compared with a norm group of psychiatric outpatients. Almost all scales of the GSBQ-100 were negatively correlated with all QOL aspects, whereas the GAF score correlated positively with all QOL aspects. In general, participants with problems on aspects of social functioning had lower QOL scores than those without such problems, even after a correction for the presence of psychopathology according to DSM-IV classification. Conclusion: In addition to the presence of psychopathology, social functioning is significantly related to QOL. Therefore, it should be considered more systematically in psychiatric assessment, treatment and program evaluation