Quality of life of 'normal' controls: association with lifetime history of mental illness

Abstract

This study assessed the perceived quality of life of individuals who were not in treatment for a psychiatric disorder and who were volunteers for a program to recruit control subjects. Subjects completed the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) and a diagnostic evaluation for lifetime history of mental disorders. Individuals were assigned to one of four categories according to the results of the diagnostic evaluation: Never Mentally Ill (NMI), one episode of a Minor Mental Disorder (MMD), Currently Not Mentally Ill with a serious history of mental illness (CNMI), and Currently Mentally Ill (CMI). Subjects in the two healthiest groups (NMI, MMD) reported the greatest life satisfaction and generally did not differ from each other. Subjects in the CNMI group reported significantly less satisfaction than subjects in the NMI and MMD groups, but greater life satisfaction than subjects who were currently mentally ill (CMI). The results demonstrate that an individual's current quality of life is strongly related to the extent of his or her history of mental illness. The findings provide the first available benchmarks for the Q-LES-Q for the degree of life satisfaction experienced by an untreated sample of individuals.