Patterns of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and social function in schizophrenia

Research has alternately found that obsessive and compulsive (OC) symptoms in schizophrenia are associated with graver and lesser levels of negative symptoms. One possible explanation is that there are two distinct groups of persons with OC symptoms: those with cognitive deficits and high levels of negative symptoms and those who generally function well and have low levels of negative symptoms. To examine this question, we performed a cluster analysis on 66 persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders on the basis of their level of obsessive-compulsive phenomena and global psychosocial function. Four groups were found: high OC/good function (n=9), non-OC/poor function (n=25), non-OC/moderate function (n=20), and high OC/poor function (n=12). A MANCOVA controlling for age found significant group differences on assessments of negative symptoms, executive function and attention among groups. As predicted, the high OC/poor function group had significantly poorer attention than any other group and poorer executive function than either non-OC group. The high OC/good function had lower levels of negative symptoms than either non-OC group. Implications for research and rehabilitation are discussed.