Relationships of Social-Sexual Function with Stigma and Narrative Quality Among Persons with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders Over One Year

Abstract

Committed sexual relationships are a key part of healthy psychological functioning yet are often missing in the lives of adults with schizophrenia. Although the current focus on policy and initiatives regarding schizophrenia has shifted to understanding what facilitates recovery, little is known about what helps and hinders the establishment and maintenance of these intimate relationships. In this study, we therefore sought to examine whether two psychological phenomena were concurrently and prospectively related to socio-sexual functioning: internalized stigma and narrative quality. Participants were 103 adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Assessments of internalized stigma, narrative quality, and socio-sexual functioning were obtained at baseline, and socio-sexual functioning was assessed again 5 and 12 months later. Internalized stigma was assessed using the Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness scale, narrative quality was evaluated using the scale to Assess Narrative Development, and socio-sexual functioning was assessed using the Quality of Life scale. Correlations and multiple regressions revealed that social withdrawal in the face of stigma and limited social worth (as contained within personal narratives) were related to decreased socio-sexual functioning concurrently and prospectively.