James Intagliata

Social support and quality of life of Community Support clients

Two aspects of social support, availability and adequacy, were assessed for 729 severely mentally ill adults enrolled in seven state-supported Community Support Services (CSS) programs as part of repeated questionnaire surveys nine months apart. Perceived quality of life interviews with the clients were also conducted at both times. These interviews included the Bradburn Positive and Negative Affect Scales and the Satisfaction with Life Domains Scale (SLDS). Availability of social support was significantly correlated with postive affect over time, but not with negative affect at either point. Inadequacy of social support was significantly related to negative affect at both assessments. Both availability and adequacy of social support were significantly related to the SLDS at each time. Change in satisfaction with life domains was found to be related to both availability and, to a lesser degree, with adequacy of social support.

Factors affecting case management services for the chronically mentally ill

This paper synthesizes the results of available empirical studies of case management of the chronically mentally ill with the broader case management literature to provide a summary of the factors that influence the delivery of case management services. The paper discusses the characteristics of the individuals who provide case management, the clients they serve, the design of their jobs, and the services network in which they work as these variables affect the work activities of case managers, the frequency with which they see clients, and their job satisfaction.

Community support services and functioning of the seriously mentally ill

A cohort of 729 chronically mentally ill patients receiving community support services (CSS) were followed over a nine-month period. Receiving needed community support services was shown to predict change in client functioning as measured by the Global Assessment Scale (GAS) even after the initial values on the GAS, as well as demographic, psychiatric, residential and medication maintenance variables were considered. Adequacy of social support from family, friends and others also contributed to predicting change in global functioning of the CSS patients.