The SIO is a reliable measurement tool developed to assess the needs and impairments in the social functioning of individuals with schizophrenia. The SIO can also be used by clinicians and researchers in the context of family or other psychosocial interventions.
It consists of six sections:
- Withdrawal
- Interpersonal Communication
- Independence-Performance
- Independence—Competence
- Hobbies
- Preliminary social activities
- Work
The scale should preferably be completed in a separate setting by the patient, a relative, or someone with whom the patient spends time daily, to ensure confidentiality and prevent the responses from being influenced. To ensure the questions are understood and to clarify any items that may be misunderstood, a person familiar with the scale should be present while the patient and caregiver forms are being completed.
The first summary page is used to enter the scale scores and convert them to raw scores for evaluation using Table 1 on the back of the scoring key. This page also provides the individual’s social functioning profile, where problem areas can be identified more quickly through bar graphs.