Classification of the schizophrenias according to symptomatology: a two-factor model
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Published on: March 8, 2018
1Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract:
Various methods of subtyping schizophrenia are briefly reviewed. It is concluded that the paranoid-nonparanoid dichotomy has been the most consistently supported both clinically and in experimental research. In an attempt to deal with its limitations, a tentative reconceptualization is proposed for schizophrenia. This new model is based on two independent factors: severity of disorder and severity of symptom. The present dimensional approach is shown to be consistent with a number of empirical findings regarding differences and associations between paranoid and nonparanoid symptomatology. The relative advantages of dimensional and categorical descriptions, as well as their combination, are presented.
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