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Association between stereotypic behavior and polydipsia in chronic schizophrenic patients
M S Shutty1, K McCulley, B Pigott
1Western State Hospital, Staunton, Virginia, USA.
Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry
|December 1, 1995
Summary
In chronic schizophrenia, excessive drinking (polydipsia) is temporally linked to repetitive behaviors like grooming and pacing, but only in patients with polydipsia. This suggests a connection between drinking and other stereotypies.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Polydipsia (excessive drinking) is a common symptom in chronic schizophrenia.
- The relationship between polydipsia and other repetitive behaviors (motor stereotypies) in schizophrenia is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal association between polydipsia and motor stereotypies in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
- To explore etiological theories of polydipsia involving environmental, biological, and pharmacological factors.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving three groups of patients: polydipsic with stereotypies, polydipsic without stereotypies, and nonpolydipsic.
- Behavioral assessment to record and analyze temporal associations between drinking episodes and specific motor stereotypies.
Main Results:
- Polydipsic patients showed a significant temporal association between drinking and stereotyped behaviors (grooming: 87% concordance; pacing: 66% concordance).
- No such association was observed in nonpolydipsic patients (12% concordance).
- This is the first empirical evidence linking polydipsia with other repetitive behaviors in schizophrenia.
Conclusions:
- Polydipsia in chronic schizophrenia is temporally associated with other motor stereotypies.
- Behavioral assessment can help elucidate the complex etiology of polydipsia, considering interacting variables.