Psychopathological verbal expression of self-perceived stress in three groups of psychotic patients

Self-perceived stress in 293 psychotic patients (schizophrenic, toxic and brief reactive psychoses) and a control group of 40 sane individuals was evaluated by means of the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire. For this purpose, scores obtained in 6 'complementary items' of third version of this questionnaire were studied, both in global and in detailed form. These items reflect coping mechanisms exerted towards situations perceived as stressful which can produce clinical manifestations similar to the well-known 'negative symptoms' of schizophrenia. Results show that self-perceived stress in all groups of patients is significantly higher than in the control group. In contrast, no significant differences among the three groups of patients are obtained. In conclusion, we point out the relevance of studying the psychotic patient's self-perceived stress in order to detect and minimize or even avoid the patient's risk situations, independent of his/her diagnosis. This will be especially useful to obtain optimal conditions for rehabilitation.