Objectives : Homeless people surged after financial crisis tend to be chronic despite late economic recovery. So we tried to estimate prevalence of mental illness and quality of life of the homeless population living in shelter.
Method : The study subjects were 220 homeless peoples who stayed at a shelter in Seoul around March 2000. Questionnaires on sociodemographic data were administered to the subjects, and then diagnoses of major DSM-IV Axis I mental disorders were made using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders(SCID). And quality of life(QOL) was evaluated by SmithKline Beecham Quality of Life Scale( SBQOL).
Results : The lifetime prevalence of major DSM-IV mental disorders(mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and substance
use disorders) of 220 homeless people was 73.6%, and current prevalence was 59.1%. The lifetime prevalence of alcohol dependence and abuse was highest, 59.5% and those of mood disorders and psychotic disorders were 39.5%, 3.6% respectively. Quality of life was not significantly correlated with duration of homelessness and unemployment but marital status, self perceive health status, suicidal attempt history were significant factors. The quality of life in the people with mood disorders were estimated to be lower than those with any other diseases(p <0.0 1).
Conclusion : Alcoholism was the most prevalent mental. disorder in homeless people and mood disorder was negatively related to the quality of life scale.
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