PREMORBID FUNCTIONING IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - A CONTROLLED-STUDY OF NIGERIAN PATIENTS

We compared the premorbid social adjustment of 38 schizophrenic patien ts with that of 20 manic patients. Even though the small sample size a ffected the number of significant differences obtained, schizophrenic patients consistently showed evidence of poorer premorbid functioning than manics at various stages of social development. Schizophrenic men also tended to have functioned more poorly than women. Poor premorbid functioning was associated with negative syndrome, but not with posit ive or disorganization syndromes. Our findings suggest that poor premo rbid adjustment is an early sign of schizophrenic illness even among p atient populations who may be characterized by good short-term outcome . Copyright (C) 1994 by W.B. Saunders Company