Abstract
The objective of the study was to identify the reasons behind difficulties in learning computer operation skills among persons with schizophrenia. Twelve persons with schizophrenia and 14 control subjects without neuropsychiatric diseases took a course in personal computer usage consisting of ten 60-minute weekly lessons. All subjects took a computer operation skills test before and after the course. For the persons with schizophrenia, relationships between the test results and scores on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) were analyzed quantitatively. Difficulties with computer operation were identified using a questionnaire and analyzed qualitatively. The mean test scores after the course increased for the control group, but were unchanged for the persons with schizophrenia. There was no correlation between the total BPRS score and the test results, but ‘positive symptoms’ scores were negatively correlated with test scores and the number of input letters. In the qualitative analysis, 24 items in 6 categories were identified as reasons for difficulty with computer operation, with 11 of these items being unique to the persons with schizophrenia. These findings indicate the need to develop a computer learning course that is compatible with the characteristics of persons with schizophrenia.
