Independence Through Community Access and Navigation: A Supported Leisure Intervention for Individuals With Negative Symptoms

Objective: Promoting leisure participation requires a collaborative approach that emphasizes personal interests, strengths, and motivations. The purpose of this article was to test the effectiveness of the Independence through Community Access and Navigation (ICAN) intervention on community participation, recreation participation, and positive emotions among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Using motivational interviewing and an individualized placements and support framework, the ICAN intervention focuses on working with participants to identify and participate in personally meaningful leisure activities by connecting with personal motivations and mainstream community opportunities. Method: This randomized controlled trial was conducted with 74 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia with assessments conducted at baseline and posttreatment. Intervention effects were examined with repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple regression analysis was also performed using a change score as an outcome variable and baseline negative symptoms score, condition, and interaction as predictors. Results: There was no significant main effect of ICAN on positive emotions, recreation participation, or community participation; however, among those in the experimental group, those with impairments in motivation and pleasure experienced improvements in community participation. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: For individuals experiencing greater negative symptoms, a supported leisure intervention may be an effective strategy to explore personal motivations and increase leisure participation. Future research should test the intervention effectiveness specifically targeting a larger sample of individuals with more severe negative symptoms. Impact and Implications Individuals with greater negative symptoms experienced a significant increase in recreation and community participation. Supported leisure interventions inherently draw upon principles of shared decision making and may meet the specific needs of individuals who experience negative symptoms.