The SIQ is a reliable measurement tool developed to assess the needs and impairment in the social functioning of people with schizophrenia. It can also be used by clinicians and researchers for family or other psychosocial interventions.
It consists of six sections:
- Withdrawal
- Interpersonal communication
- Independence-performance
- Independence-competence
- Hobbies
- Priority social activities
- Work
The scale should be completed by the patient himself/herself, a relative or a person he/she is with every day, preferably in a separate environment to ensure confidentiality and to avoid manipulation of responses. A person familiar with the scale should be present during the completion of the patient and relative forms to ensure understanding of the questions and to explain misunderstood items.
The first summary page is used to enter the scale scores and convert them into raw scores for evaluation using table 1 at the back of the scoring key. This page also provides a profile of the person's social functioning where problem areas can be identified more quickly in the form of a bar graph.