Symptomatology and insight in schizophrenia

The phenomenon of poor insight of clients with schizophrenia has recently received a great deal of attention; however, the relationship of the symptoms of illness and of poor insight is not fully understood. This study examined the relationship between ratings of symptomatology and ratings of insight deficits for 64 clients with schizophrenia. Symptomatology and insight were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Over-all functioning was evaluated using the Global Assessment of Functioning scale. Ratings on positive symptomatology were significantly related to ratings of poor insight. As ratings of poor insight increased, ratings on severity of positive symptoms, for example, delusions and hallucinations, also increased Implications of this finding are discussed.