GENDER DIFFERENCES ON THOUGHT DISTURBANCE MEASURES AMONG SCHIZOPHRENIC-PATIENTS

Objective: This study examined gender differences on three measures of thought disturbance among patients with schizophrenia and the relatio n between thought disturbance and social competency. Method: Fifty-thr ee male and 34 female patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to the DSM-III-R criteria were assessed on measures of thought disturb ance: subscales of the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms ( SAPS), subscales of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), and the Ego Impairment Index. Gender differences on the three measures of tho ught disturbance and the relation of these measures to demographic var iables and other variables, such as social competency, were examined. Results: Male and female schizophrenic patients demonstrated similar d egrees of thought disturbance on the pertinent subscales of the SAPS a nd the BPRS, but the male schizophrenic patients had scores showing gr eater impairment on the Ego Impairment Index. Furthermore, a relations hip between thought disturbance and social competency was confirmed. C onclusions: These findings support other studies in which female patie nts were found to have a ''milder'' form of schizophrenia, generally c haracterized by better social functioning, than their male counterpart s. The literature regarding gender-related differences in thought dist urbance in schizophrenia has been unclear and complicated by design is sues such as obtaining adequate samples of subjects and optimizing mea surement selection. The findings of this study suggest that use of a c onverging-measures strategy allows a better assessment of thought dist urbance in severely ill schizophrenic patients and an understanding of the importance of thought disorder with respect to gender-related pat terns of clinical characteristics, such as social competency.