Assessing social networks in patients with psychotic disorders : a systematic review of instruments

Background: Evidence suggests that social networks of patients with psychotic disorders influence symptoms, quality of life and treatment outcomes. It is therefore important to assess social networks for which appropriate and preferably established instruments should be used. Aims: To identify instruments assessing social networks in studies of patients with psychotic disorders and explore their properties. Method: A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted to identify studies that used a measure of social networks in patients with psychotic disorders. Results: Eight instruments were identified, all of which had been developed before 1991. They have been used in 65 studies (total N of patients = 8,522). They assess one or more aspects of social networks such as their size, structure, dimensionality and quality. Most instruments have various shortcomings, including questionable inter-rater and test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The assessment of social networks in patients with psychotic disorders is characterized by a variety of approaches which may reflect the complexity of the construct. Further research on social networks in patients with psychotic disorders would benefit from advanced and more precise instruments using comparable definitions of and timescales for social networks across studies.