This is a cross sectional study examining quality of life in relation to coping styles among
patients with Schizophrenia (N=92) in remission, from June 2002 to December 2002.
Remission state is determined by Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). The psychiatric
diagnosis was made by treating psychiatrist using the Clinical Interview Schedule for the
DSM-IV Diagnosis. They are subsequently asked to complete demographic and clinical
data questionnaire and followed by 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36) of the
Medical Outcome Study (MOS) for the assessment of quality of life and the Coping
Inventory for Stressful Situation (CISS). The QOL in term of overall mental health among patients with schizophrenia was significantly and positively associated with ethnic group
(p<0.05), employment status, type of antipsychotic (p<0.05) and number of admission
(p<0.05). Being Chinese and employed are associated with better QOL in term of overall
mental health. The commonly used coping style among patients with Schizophrenia is the
distraction component of avoidance-oriented coping. The task-oriented coping was
significantly and positively correlated with quality of life in term of mental component.
There was a negative correlation between the emotion-oriented coping and all the domain
of the quality of life. In conclusion, better quality of life is positively correlated with taskoriented
coping and inversely related with emotion-oriented coping.