CLASSIFICATION OF THE SCHIZOPHRENIAS ACCORDING TO SYMPTOMATOLOGY - A 2-FACTOR MODEL

Various methods of subtyping schizophrenia are briefly reviewed. It is concluded that the paranoid-nonparanoid dichotomy has been the most c onsistently supported both clinically and in experimental research. In an attempt to deal with its limitations, a tentative reconceptualizat ion is proposed for schizophrenia. This new model is based on two inde pendent factors: severity of disorder and severity of symptom. The pre sent dimensional approach is shown to be consistent with a number of e mpirical findings regarding differences and associations between paran oid and nonparanoid symptomatology The relative advantages of dimensio nal and categorical descriptions, as well as their combination, are pr esented.