Going beyond the psychosocial aspects of quality of life and delving into the neurobiological basis of emotions, feelings and satisfaction, this unique title provides a state-of-the-art overview of subjective quality of life for people with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder (mood disorders). Four crucial issues are addressed: the main characteristics of the quality of life deficit in individuals with severe mental disorders; the course of quality of life deficits among these patients; the underlying factors (indicators and predictors) that influence quality of life; and a suitable model that can help interpret the findings of quality of life research and treatment interventions. Answering these questions, the book provides an overview of the currently available publications and contains a detailed analysis of quality of life and related variables from the Sha'ar Menashe Longitudinal Naturalistic Quality of Life Study (SMQOL). The Distress / Protection Vulnerability Quality of Life Model was applied in order to assist the reader in understanding empirical findings. With twenty-three chapters organized in four sections, this comprehensive and novel reference will be of great interest to a broad spectrum of readers including psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, neuroscientists, pharmacologists, general practitioners, geriatricians, graduate students, researchers, health care providers and policy makers in the fields of mental health and rehabilitation.
