Defining Happiness for Young Adults With Schizophrenia: A Building Block for Recovery

Purpose: Findings from this mixed methods descriptive study include a definition of happiness for young adults with schizophrenia (SCZ).Methods: Thirteen men and women, ages 23 to 35, completed a series of three individual 1-hour interviews over 6 weeks.Results: This definition included themes of material happiness, relational happiness, and health happiness. Although these themes correspond to those for young adults without SCZ, four barriers to happiness were identified for this vulnerable population: 1) fear, 2) isolation, 3) medication, 4) not being considered “normal.”Conclusions: Implications of these findings include designing interventions to support recovery by overcoming barriers to happiness.