Negative symptomatology in schizophrenic outpatients

This study examines the prevalence of negative symptoms, and assesses the convergence of negative and depressive symptoms in 60 chronically ill schizophrenic outpatients. Negative symptoms were assessed with the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the negative symptom cluster of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Depressive symptoms were assessed with the depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory and the depressive symptom cluster of the BPRS. A majority of patients in this group of relatively stable, schizophrenic outpatients demonstrated mild to moderate degrees of both negative and depressive symptoms. Correlations were not significant between negative symptom and depressive symptom measures, which suggests that the symptom constructs are relatively independent. Comparisons between a subgroup with prominent negative symptoms (N = 18) and a subgroup with minimal negative symptoms (N = 32) also revealed no significant group differences in variables that characterize clinical course (i.e., age of onset and frequency and duration of hospitalization) or in the severity of depressive symptoms. This lack of any significant differences on the clinical course variables may be partially explained by the heterogeneity of negative symptoms. The constellation of negative symptoms may differ not only in etiology but also in their temporal relationships to other aspects of the patient's clinical course. Longitudinal studies will be needed to track the long-term outcome of negative and depressive symptoms.