METAANALYSIS OF SYMPTOM FACTORS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Factor and correlational analyses have been used to characterize sympt om dimensions in schizophrenia, though they have yielded divergent mod els. This study used meta-analysis of published work to determine the number and composition of symptom dimensions. Principal components ana lysis of data from 10 empirical studies (pooled n = 896) yielded three factors, 'positive', 'negative' and 'conceptual disorganization'. The findings suggest that a three-factor solution is a relatively stable outcome of studies assessing these symptoms in chronic patients, and t hat some symptoms (alogia, attentional impairment) are less likely to load uniquely on a single factor. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All r ights reserved.