The relationship between functional capacity and community responsibilities in middle-aged and older Latinos of Mexican origin with chronic psychosis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between scores on the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment (UPSA), a performance-based measure of functional capacity, and level of patient community responsibilities (i.e., work for pay; volunteer work; attend school; household duties) in a Latino sample. Participants were 58 middle-aged and older Latinos of Mexican origin (mean age = 48.8 years) with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. We conducted an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), controlling for age, symptoms of psychosis, and participant language, to determine if greater participation in community responsibilities was associated with higher functional capacity, as measured by the UPSA. Results indicated significant group differences in UPSA scores (F = 5.11, df = 2,51; p = .009), with patients reporting only a single community responsibility having significantly higher UPSA scores than those reporting zero community responsibilities (p = .016) and those reporting two responsibilities scoring significantly higher than those reporting zero community responsibility (p = .008). There were no differences found between those reporting one and those reporting two community responsibilities (p= .256). In contrast, no group differences were observed on the Dementia Rating Scale, a global measure of cognitive functioning (F = 2.14, df = 2,51; p = .128). These results provide initial support for the validity of the UPSA in Latino patients of Mexican origin, and suggest that improvement in functional capacity (i.e., UPSA scores) may be associated with increased capacity for greater community involvement in this population.

When Functional Capacity and Real-World Functioning Converge: The Role of Self-Efficacy

“…As described by Kraemer and Blasey, 32 centering variables serves to produce regression coefficients and intercepts that are relevant and also aids in reducing problems associated with multicollinearity. Given their association with functional outcomes, [33][34][35] age in years and PANSS negative scores were used as covariates in our analyses. After accounting for these variables, self-efficacy, UPSA-B scores, and the interaction between self-efficacy and UPSA-B were entered into our models.…”

Exploratory analysis of normative performance on the UCSD Performance‐Based Skills Assessment‐Brief

“…The accuracy of UPSA-B in predicting residential independence, as with the full UPSA, was significantly greater than that of the DRS, indicating that the UPSA-B has predictive ability above and beyond a cognitive screening measure (Mausbach et al, 2007). The UPSA-B has also been shown to predict employment outcomes in persons with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Mausbach et al, 2011; Mausbach et al, 2010), as well a functional responsibility in community-dwelling individuals with schizophrenia (Cardenas et al, 2008). The UPSA-B has the advantage of shorter length (10 minutes), while remaining highly correlated (r=0.91; (Mausbach et al, 2007)) with the full UPSA (30 minutes).…”

The effect of language on functional capacity assessment in middle-aged and older US Latinos with schizophrenia

“…Observed differences appear to result from economic, cultural, and environmental factors more than differences in the disorder itself (Bae and Brekke, 2002; Cardenas et al, 2008; Iyer et al, 2010; Haro et al, 2011) These findings, however, are limited by methodological variability in the definition of schizophrenia, as well as differences across studies in demographic (e.g., age, gender) and clinical (e.g., duration of untreated psychosis) variables (Hopper and Wanderling, 2000; Patel et al, 2006; Cohen et al, 2008; Iyer et al, 2010). Therefore, cross-national differences in functional outcome may be complex and multiply-determined (Cohen et al, 2008; McGrath, 2008; Strauss, 2008).…”