NEGATIVE SYMPTOM ASSESSMENT OF CHRONIC-SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS

A new scale for assessing negative symptoms in schizophrenia, the Nega tive Symptom Assessment (NSA), was administered to 101 male chronic, i npatient schizophrenia patients. Factor analysis of the NSA yielded se ven factors, but most of the explained variance resided in Factor 1, R estricted Affect/Emotion. The factors that emerged from this study clo sely resembled NSA factors derived from an earlier study of outpatient schizophrenia patients, which indicates the factor structure of the N SA is robust. A constellation of variables reflecting long-term or chr onic illness were significantly related to six of the seven factors. T hese results suggest that ''institutionalism'' may play a role in the evolution of some negative symptoms.