The Effectiveness of the Nanta-Program on Psychiatric Symptoms, Interpersonal Relationships, and Quality of Life in Forensic Inpatients with Schizophrenia

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Nanta-program on psychiatric symptoms, interpersonal relationships, and quality of life (QoL) in forensic inpatients with schizophrenia (SPR).MethodsA quasi-experimental study employing a nonequivalent control group and pre-posttest design was conducted. Participants were 38 forensic inpatients with SPR from South Korea (experimental group = 18, control group = 20). The intervention was conducted in 12 sessions over 12 weeks, taking 90 min per session. Data were analyzed using χ2-test and t-test with SPSS 22.0 program.ResultsThe experimental group showed significant improvements in psychiatric symptoms (t = −2.73, p = .010) and slight improvement in interpersonal relationships (t = 2.23, p = .0.34) after 12 weeks of group music therapy. There was no significant difference in QoL change between the two groups.ConclusionThese findings indicate that the Nanta-program is an effective intervention program for improving psychiatric symptoms and interpersonal relationships of prisoners with schizophrenia.