The Independent Living Scales as a Measure of Functional Outcome for Schizophrenia

The Independent Living Scales (ILS) measures cognitive skills required for independent living and is intended to provide guidelines for appropriate supervision requirements for persons in residential placement. To assess the validity of the ILS among persons with schizophrenia, the instrument was administered to 162 individuals with schizophrenia who were living in three gradations of care: maximum supervision, moderate supervision, and minimal supervision. Scores on the ILS differed significantly across the three levels of care, whereas scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) that were provided by clinicians discriminated only two levels of care. The ILS can be used among patients with schizophrenia to measure cognition as it affects functional outcome.