Preliminary study of time estimation of daily activities in patients with chronic schizophrenia by questionnaire survey

Abstract

Introduction Few studies have investigated time estimation of daily activities in patients with mental illness. Therefore, we conducted a preliminary study to extract the characteristics of time estimation in patients with schizophrenia. Method We conducted an investigation using the Questionnaire of Time Experience in Daily Activities in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. We compared the results between schizophrenia patients and healthy controls using t-tests. Results Thirty-four people participated in each group. T-tests showed significantly shorter length of time answers in the schizophrenia group for question 4, (“How long does it take you to go out after waking up in the morning?”). For question 5 (“When you have to take a bus, how long before departure time do you arrive at the bus stop?”) and question 6 (“You have an appointment with your friend. How long beforehand do you arrive at the appointed place?”), the answers of the schizophrenia group were significantly longer than the healthy controls. Conclusion Time estimations of some daily activities of patients with schizophrenia were significantly different from those of healthy controls. This study will support the next phase of psychometric testing of the Questionnaire of Time Experience in Daily Activities, after which the results will applicable to practice.