Implications of the Concepts "Coping" and "Quality of Life" for Criteria of Course and Outcome

Abstract

The Berlin Coping Study is a prospective longitudinal project with schizophrenic patients investigating the relationship between coping strategies and course and outcome. We find that some psychological issues relevant for both clinical practice and psychiatric research, and especially for pharmacological therapy, have been rather neglected up to now. The investigation of coping strategies leads to accentuating the patients' subjective individual views concerning their demands, goals, and coping activities in daily living and their schizophrenic illness. The concept of quality of life is increasingly receiving attention in various domains of professional care and it is very relevant to the issues discussed here. Consequences of this approach for therapy and research are outlined.