A SELF-REPORT INSIGHT SCALE FOR PSYCHOSIS - RELIABILITY, VALIDITY ANDSENSITIVITY TO CHANGE

Lack of insight is a frequent concomitant of psychosis and has traditi onally been viewed as a binary, all or none phenomenon. Recent concept ualization has formulated insight as a continuum representing the juxt aposition of 3 factors - awareness of illness, need for treatment and attribution of symptoms. Measurement of insight has been exclusively b ased on interview; this method does not easily lend itself to frequent repeated measurement and requires interrater reliability to be establ ished. A self-report Insight Scale is presented, and evidence in suppo rt of its reliability, validity and sensitivity is provided that inclu des a sample of 30 patients monitored during recovery from an acute ps ychosis. The scale is a quick and acceptable measure that may find app lication in investigations of acute care, cognitive therapy of psychot ic symptoms and as a method of augmenting clinical judgements of insig ht.