Te. Smith et al., THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYMPTOMS AND INSIGHT IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - A LONGITUDINAL PERSPECTIVE, Schizophrenia research, 33(1-2), 1998, pp. 63-67
It has been suggested that deficits in symptom awareness and attributi
on in schizophrenia are relatively independent of core symptoms of the
disorder. Many studies report conflicting findings, however, which ma
y be explained by differences in study design and target population. I
n this study 33 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective diso
rder were assessed longitudinally using standard symptom and insight m
easures, with analyses focusing on associations with psychotic, depres
sion and anxiety symptoms. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analy
ses showed significant but only moderate associations between insight
and symptoms of depression and disorganization, with no consistent rel
ationships with positive and negative symptoms. Higher levels of depre
ssion were associated with improved awareness and attribution, whereas
higher levels of disorganized symptoms were associated with deficits
in awareness and attribution. The results are compared with the previo
us literature, and it is suggested that insight deficits in schizophre
nia may vary depending on factors such as course and phase of illness.
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