Correlates of symptom dimensions in schizophrenia obtained with the Spanish version of the Manchester Scale

In the last decade, a significant number of studies have been published whi ch suggest a multifactorial psychopathological structure in schizophrenia. Seventy-eight acute and chronic schizophrenic patients diagnosed in accorda nce with DSM-III-R criteria were studied with the Manchester Scale, Premorb id Adjustment Scale, Family History-RDC Interview, Digit Span, Mini-Mental State and computerized tomography (CT). A factorial analysis of the symptom s as recorded with the Spanish version of the Manchester Scale was carried out. Three factors ('positive', 'negative' and 'disorganization') accounted for 79% of the total variance. Poor premorbid adjustment was associated wi th high scores for the 'positive' dimension. The 'disorganization' dimensio n was significantly associated with lower scores in the Mini-Mental and att ention test than the rest. However, CT did not differentiate between these symptom dimensions. This study of a sample of mostly outpatients corroborat es the hypothesis of three clinical dimensions in schizophrenia. Copyright (C) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel.