Objectives: An ethnographic approach was used to study the relationship between temporal perspective in persons with chronic schizophrenia and their ability to function in chosen occupations and participate in the routines of a board and care home. Components of future time perspective (extension, coherence, and density) are associated with the ability to organize and implement goal-directed activities. The study focused on how future time perspective occurs in a board and care home, with particular emphasis on how the institution influences temporality.
Methods: Participant observation and interviewing were used to gather data on 10 subjects.
Results: The pervasive influence of the facility's institutional rules and expectations is revealed in the findings of subjects' present time orientation and limited future time perspective.
Conclusions: An examination of the fit between the demands of available roles within one's environment and occupations is proposed.