5-FACTOR MODEL OF CHILDHOOD-ONSET SCHIZOP HRENIA

Forty-four first-admission patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia (age at onset less than or equal to 14 years) were examined retrospec tively for 30 clinical symptoms using the Positive and Negative Syndro me Scale (PANSS;15). A principal component analysis with varimax rotat ion was applied to the full item set of this scale and revealed five o rthogonal independent symptom groups: cognition affect, social withdra wal, anti-social behavior, excitement, and reality distortion. In orde r to validate these psychopathological dimensions we analyzed the rela tion between the five factor scores and outcome variables (Disability Assessment Schedule, DAS-M; 13) several years after onset: Social with drawal was correlated with poor outcome; reality distortion was relate d to good outcome (P<0.01). A multivariate ANOVA identified group diff erences in the anti-social behavior factor between acute and insidious onset of illness and between boys and girls; patients with an acute o nset scored significantly higher on the excitement factor than those w ith an insidious onset (P<0.05). According to our results more than tw o dimensions are necessary to describe the psychopathology of childhoo d-onset schizophrenia, similar to adolescent-and adult-onset schizophr enia.