Researchers have argued strongly for the development of a robust QoL instrument specific to schizophrenia, based on the subjective judgement of patients and including only relevant items that are expected to change (Awad et al, 1997). These authors report the dearth of reliable and validated QoL scales that are sensitive enough to detect the relatively small changes that patients experience in clinical trials. Although there are a number of measures available for the assessment of QoL in people with schizophrenia, these measures cannot be considered appropriate for evaluating interventions for the following reasons :