Loneliness and related factors among people with schizophrenia in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

What is known about the subject?

• Loneliness among people diagnosed with schizophrenia is a serious problem. Recent studies have focused on the loneliness; however, no study has examined the relationships between loneliness and both individual and environmental factors comprehensively.

What this paper adds to existing knowledge?

• The main results indicated that the community-dwelling people diagnosed with schizophrenia in Japan as well as in other countries experienced higher levels of loneliness. Both individual and environmental factors were related to loneliness. Increasing the self-efficacy for community life and self-esteem of individual factors, and not being socially isolated and increasing community integration of environmental factors would improve their loneliness.

What are the implications for practice?

• Health practitioners, in particular, public health nurses in mental health care, should work to develop a partnership with people diagnosed with schizophrenia, their family members, friends and other community-dwelling people in order to decrease and prevent loneliness. For individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, interventions by cooperating with community resources and using the technique of nurses to assist them with continuous community activity could be useful. For environmental interventions, population approach such as developing daily programmes which family members can participate in, and cooperating with educational institutions and community events could have a positive effects.

Introduction

Loneliness among people diagnosed with schizophrenia living in communities can decrease quality of life and may contribute to suicide.

Aim

The aim of this study was to examine the levels of loneliness among Japanese people diagnosed with schizophrenia and to identify individual and environmental factors related to their loneliness.

Method

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 264 people diagnosed with schizophrenia who use local activity support centres in urban areas. The self-administered questionnaires included questions on loneliness, demographic characteristics, individual factors including self-efficacy for community life and self-esteem, and environmental factors including social isolation, community integration and service use.

Results

The study results indicated that people diagnosed with schizophrenia in Japan experience higher levels of loneliness, corroborating results from other countries. Multiple regression analysis showed that a lower level of self-efficacy for community life, self-esteem, community integration and social isolation predicted a higher level of loneliness, accounting for 55.3% of variance.

Implications for Practice

Public health nurses in mental health care in Japan can work with individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and communities using the technique to assist them with continuous activity and cooperating with community resources and educational institutions in order to decrease and prevent loneliness.