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Social outcomes are concerned with overall changes
in the social environment, changes in relationships between individuals,
and changes in the relationship between the individual and the
environment that result from improved mental health and well-being.
The positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia
can interfere with the person's capacity to cope with the usual
demands of interpersonal interaction and the decoding of social
communication (188).
Adverse effects on socialization can also arise from the more
common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety. These
mental disorders have adverse consequences that include a breakdown
in marital stability (189)
increased teenage parenthood (190),
more distant social relationships (191)
and other factors associated with social deterioration.
Enhanced mental health increases the capacity of
the individual to access and interact with people and resources
within their local communities. This includes, for example, the
individual's capacity to access to housing, vocational and recreational
opportunities as well as socially supportive relationships. A
number of standardised measures of social outcomes at the individual
level have been developed for monitoring progress in these areas.
These include improved relationships between individuals and groups,
improvement in the quality of family relationships and community
relationships and increased constructive participation in civil
society.
These improved relationships contribute to enhanced
social capital with benefits accruing to the wider social group.
Other measures of social outcome at the population level may include
indicators of family violence, stigma and discrimination, mental
health literacy, housing availability. However, more research
is needed to establish the relationship between improved mental
health and social outcomes.
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