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

PURPOSE: The 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).

METHODS: A 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 χ(2)-test and t-test with SPSS 22.0 program.

RESULTS: The 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.

CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the Nanta-program is an effective intervention program for improving psychiatric symptoms and interpersonal relationships of prisoners with schizophrenia.