The Effects of Recreational Therapy on the Psychosocial Functioning of an Inpatient Behavioral Health Population

Abstract

The original purpose of this study was to examine the association of recreational therapy services with changes in psychosocial functioning (as measured by the Global Assessment of Functioning) of people with serious mental illness (SMI). Due to a series of events, the study was re-scaled to a descriptive study of recreational therapy (RT) treatment based on diagnoses, type of intervention used, age at admission, and length of stay. The sample included 2,051 adult participants with SMI who received treatment in an inpatient behavioral health center in the southeastern United States between 2007 and 2010. Descriptive statistics, frequencies, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to identify RT treatment patterns among individuals diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, a mental disorder, episodic mood disorder, and bipolar I disorder. A cross tabulation was used to determine which diagnoses received RT individual assessment. Correlations were used to determine the relationship between age at admission, length of stay, and the units of total RT received. Results indicated different diagnoses received varied units of RT based on length of stay and age at admission; however, any significance found between mean RT units received and diagnoses groups was explained through length of stay at the facility and number of daily RT units received. Different RT interventions were also explored by diagnoses, but data was insufficient to answer research questions. Though limitations for this study were extensive, results provide appropriate implications for practitioners and recommendations for future researchers.