Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 9, 2026

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Negative symptoms in youths with psychosis spectrum features: complementary scales in relation to neurocognitive
Raquel E Gur1, Mary March1, Monica E Calkins1
1Department of Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatry Section, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 10 Gates, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Background:
Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are related to impaired functioning. The presence of negative symptoms in early phases of psychosis in individuals at clinical risk is receiving increased attention.
Methods:
We evaluated comprehensively a sample of 92 young people (age range 15-25) applying the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS), adapted for youth. Individuals at clinical high risk (CHR, n=29) were compared to individuals with schizophrenia (SZ, n=31) and normal controls (NC, n=32). In addition to the CAINS, participants were assessed with the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS), enabling examination of the relations among scales, as well as the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (CNB), to examine association with cognitive performance, and the Global Assessment of Function (GAF) to assess overall functioning.
Results:
The CHR group was intermediate to SZ and NC on nearly all clinical measures. Negative symptoms on the CAINS correlated better with negative than with other symptoms on the SIPS and were associated with neurocognitive deficits and poorer functioning.
Conclusions:
This study illustrates the feasibility of in-depth evaluation of negative symptoms in youth and indicates that these symptoms are present already in the at-risk state and relate to impaired cognition and functioning.
Related Concept Videos
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...
Personality Disorders: Paranoid and Schizoid
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is...
Positive Symptoms Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Hallucinations
Hallucinations in...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia

