Stressful life events and relapse in schizophrenia: The moderating effect of social support

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the relationship between stressful life events, relapse, and social support, and the moderating effect of social support on the association between stressful life events and relapse in schizophrenia. Methods: : A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 215 patients recruited from Ningxia Mental Health Centre, China. All participants completed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Social Support Rating Scale, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Clinical Global Impressions-Severity Scale, and Morisky Medication Adherence Scales-8. Spearman’s correlation analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to explore the relationship between stressful life events, relapse, and social support. The moderating effect of social support was tested with PROCESS 3.4 SPSS. Results: : Stressful life events and the three domains of social support exerted a significant influence on the relapse of schizophrenia. Significant evidence suggests that social support acts as a protective factor and moderates the relationship between stressful life events and relapse. However, this moderating effect exists only in subjective social support and not in objective social support and availability. Conclusion: This study provides a better understanding of the relationship between stressful life events, relapse, and social support and provides significant evidence suggesting that social support moderates the impact of stressful life events on relapse. This suggests that the promotion of social support is beneficial in reducing the risk of relapse in patients with schizophrenia.