Literature Review
Schizophrenia is an adverse and disabling cognitive disease, which has been found to affect 1% of the world’s population according to statistics. The hallmark of the disorder is social dysfunction which constitutes the major burden on the individual and the relatives of the affected person (Yadav, 2015). Some of the characteristics of social dysfunction include deficiencies in general social functioning and adverse social skills. Social skills are crucial because they promote the capability of human beings to carry out tasks competently, especially in social situations. According to research conducted by Yadav, (2015) Schizophrenia patients portray deficits in social skills because of two reasons; failure of learning the skills in their lifetime or losing such skills due to severe mental illness (SMI). The PICOT question selected in part 1 of this project is “in inpatient chronic schizophrenia patients, do social skills group training sessions increase conversational skills when compared to standard care over three week period?” The subsequent sections of the paper will review the literature on the effects of social skill training sessions for patients with Schizophrenia and compare them with standard care to determine their effectiveness.
Some of the characteristics of schizophrenia patients include deficiencies in personal and social functioning. Society holds pernicious and negative attitudes toward people with schizophrenia which manifests itself in the form of prejudice, and stigma. According to research, people living with schizophrenia often record signs of self-stigma arising from the reactions of society, and this decreases the quality of life of such individuals (Kumar & Singh, 2015). Furthermore, the family members consider schizophrenia patients as a burden to them. As a result, it is essential to promote the social functioning of persons with schizophrenia so that their family members do not view them as a burden. Social skills training is one of the widely used psychiatric rehabilitation technology which teaches schizophrenia patients particular skills necessary for attaining instrumental and affiliated goals. Social skills training involves analyzing complex behaviors and this is achieved by breaking them down into smaller sets of elements characterizing the behavior. (Khalil, 2012).
Social skills training attempts to restore the capability of the patients to function in society. It includes social, medical, and psychological treatment which increases social interaction and encourages vocational performance among schizophrenia patients. Social skills training improves the negative symptoms associated with impairments of psychosocial functioning seen in schizophrenia patients. According to a survey conducted by Kumar & Singh, (2015), social skills training plays a crucial role in enhancing the social functioning of patients with schizophrenia disease. Therefore, schizophrenic patients can learn and implement the basic social skills required for them to live independently (Kumar & Singh, 2015).
Social skills training is a primary intervention in ameliorating social skills deficits in schizophrenia patients. The literature on the efficacy of social skills training in schizophrenia is limited and sometimes offers conflicting evidence. For instance, there is limited systematic literature on psychiatric nursing up to date. Yadav (2015) conducted some systematic research to determine the efficacy of social skills training. The studies relating to the topic were searched in both electronic databases and manual sources. Yadav (2015) found numerous studies which showed that social skills training significantly improves the knowledge of schizophrenia patients specifically on text and performance on the taught skills, and increases the social adjustment of such patients. Moreover, social skills training decreases the negative symptoms arising from social dysfunctions.
A study conducted by Kapse & Nirmala, (2015) among 12 persons with schizophrenia disease reported that 66.7% of the participants recorded adverse impairments. The study established deficits in social skills as the main stumbling block towards the recovery of patients with schizophrenia. However, social skills training was found to be more effective than standard care in enhancing social skills among individuals living with schizophrenia (Kapse & Nirmala, 2015).
Social skills training equips schizophrenia patients with the necessary skills required to solve stressful life events and day-to-day hassles. As a result, patients who have passed through social skills training have been found to be more proficient in dealing with challenges in life. Compliance with social skills also enhances the participation of the patient in decisions regarding treatment. Although most of the social skills training reported positive results in improving the social adjustment and life skills of schizophrenia patients, current studies have failed to prove the benefits of social skills training for schizophrenia patients. The studies have specifically failed to provide the benefits of social skills training in reducing positive symptoms and improvements in societal functioning (Chien et.al, 2013).
In conclusion, further research is needed to determine evidence enough to prove the advantages of social skills training in schizophrenia patients. Future studies need to concentrate on how social skills training helps in alleviating the positive symptoms of persons living with schizophrenia disease. Moreover, the studies need to examine how social skills training improves societal functioning as this will help to determine if the intervention is more effective than standard care for inpatients with schizophrenia disease.
| Citation | Type of Study
Design Type Framework/ Theory |
Setting | Key Concepts/ Variables | Findings | Hierarchy of Evidence Level |
| Kumar, B., & Singh, A. R. (2015). Efficacy of Social Skills Training for the Persons with Chronic Schizophrenia. The Qualitative Report, 20(5), 660-696. | The study was a one-group-pretest-posttest psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia disease.
Phenomenology Design. |
One ward of RINPAS (Ranchi Institute of Neuro-psychiatry& Allied Sciences) | Concepts
Social skills training Schizophrenia Independent variable Nurses and other staff of RINPAS Dependent variable patients |
Social skills training helps in controlling schizophrenia disease and significantly assists in overcoming obstacles to achieve goals. | Efficacy of social skills training (SST) |
| Chien, W. T., Leung, S. F., Yeung, F. K., & Wong, W. K. (2013). Current approaches to treatments for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, part II: psychosocial interventions and patient-focused perspectives in psychiatric care. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 9, 1463. | RCT study
Systematic review design |
Concepts
Social skills training Schizophrenia Psychosocial interventions |
Family intervention, cognitive therapy, psychoeducation, SST, and assertive community treatment approaches are effective in symptom control or reduction in schizophrenia patients. | Schizophrenia treatment approaches | |
| Khalil, A. I. (2012). A Community based treatment: Impact of social skills training program on improving social skills among schizophrenic patients. World Applied Sciences Journal, 18(3), 370-378. | Type of Study Randomized Controlled Test
(RCT) Design experimental design |
Alfehais Mental Health Hospital, Two inpatient psychiatric wards (Male and female) | Concept
Social skills training Schizophrenia Independent variable Nurses of Alfehais Mental Hospital Dependent variable patients |
Pre and post-assessment data of the group under experimentation showed a significant difference concerning all elements of psychosocial training, p>0.5. This shows the effectiveness of SST in improving the social skills of schizophrenia patients. | A community-based toolkit for preventing schizophrenia |
| Yadav, B. L. (2015). Efficacy of social skills training in schizophrenia: a nursing review. Current Nursing Journal. | RCT study
Quasi-experimental design |
Concepts
Social skills training Schizophrenia |
SST increases the knowledge of schizophrenia patients on text, improves the performance on the concepts taught, and enhances their social adjustments | ||
| Kapse, P. P., & Nirmala, B. P. (2015). Efficacy of Social Skills Training among Persons with Schizophrenia. International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation. Vol 20 (1) 45, 50. | Quasi experimental design | Concept
Social skills training Schizophrenia Rehabilitation Dependent variable patients |
The study reported reasonable quantities of deficits in self-care, communication skills, instrumental skills, impulse control skills, and social functions of schizophrenia patients who participated in the survey. | Social skills training program module for preventing schizophrenia |
