The Social Inclusion of Young Adults aged 18 to 25 with Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Social inclusion is an important yet under-researched contributor to health and wellbeing. Young adults with serious mental illness (SMI) are thought to be socially excluded. This has not been rigorously assessed due to a lack of psychometric tools to measure social inclusion in this population. This research program demonstrated the reliability and validity of a new tool (the Filia Social Inclusion Measure) in samples of young adults both with and without SMI. In comparing these groups, it also produced novel insights into the social exclusion of young adults with SMI in domains of independent living and reciprocity in social relationships.