Chapter 6 - Cognition and work functioning in schizophrenia

Summary

Schizophrenia has a profound effect on reducing the capacity of individuals to sustain productive employment. Impaired work functioning has implications for both the overall quality of life for people with the disorder, and for the costs to their families and society. Work for people with schizophrenia is associated with a range of benefits, including social contact and a better quality of life. Poor vocational functioning in schizophrenia is the result of a host of different factors related to the illness. Two of the most important of these factors are poor premorbid adjustment and curtailed level of educational attainment. The psychotic and negative symptoms of schizophrenia can interfere with the ability to work. Cognitive impairments frequently precede the onset of schizophrenia, and worsen during the prodrome. The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment was developed and standardized to improve competitive work in people with serious mental illness.