INSIGHT AND COGNITIVE DEFICITS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - EVIDENCE FOR A CURVILINEAR RELATIONSHIP

Both motivational and defect theories have been offered to explain var iations in insight among schizophrenic individuals but the results of tests of these theories have been inconclusive and inconsistent. The p resent study was designed to test the hypothesis that both motivation and cognitive deficits affect insight, with a trade-off between the tw o processes, giving rise to quadratic relationships between insight an d cognitive deficits. Twenty-six schizophrenic patients completed a ba ttery of neuropsychological tests and participated in an interview des igned to assess insight. In a multiple regression analysis predicting test results from insight scores, the linear component was non-signifi cant while the quadratic component accounted for a highly significant 56% of the variance. Theoretical and clinical implications of this res ult are discussed briefly.