Specific body image pathology in acute schizophrenia

Despite a wide phenomenological interest in body image pathology in schizop hrenia, there has been little systematic empirical research. This study aim ed at establishing the specificity of body image pathology in patients with schizophrenia, its changes during acute treatment, and its association wit h other symptom factors. Cognitive (thoughts/beliefs regarding the body - b ody concept), affective (body satisfaction - body cathexis) and perceptual (body size estimation - belly schema) facets of body image and psychopathol ogy were assessed in in-patients with paranoid schizophrenia (N = 60), schi zoaffective disorder (N = 19), depressive disorder (N = 40) and anxiety dis order (N = 28) at admission, and after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Body siz e perception was also assessed in a sample of healthy subjects (N = 44). Pa tients with paranoid schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder showed under-es timation of lower extremities at each time point. They expressed a higher d egree of body concept disturbances at admission, but not at later stages. I n a factor analysis, body perception and body concept loaded on distinct fa ctors, which were separate from positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and a nxiety. Patients with acute paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective diso rder seem to have a specific and consistent disturbance of body size percep tion, which might indicate a dysfunction of sensory information processing. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.