EPA-1768 – Insight in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Aims

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1. - To measure the insight of a clinical population of schizophrenics.

2. - To specify factors correlated with a great insight.

Methods

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1. - A cross-sectional study on 30 schizophrenic male followed in the Department of Psychiatry B, Hedi Cheker hospital in Sfax, Tunisia.

2. - For each patient:

We collected the demographic and clinical data and we used the following scales:

1. * The Insight Scale (IS) for the measurement of ‘insight.

2. * Positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) to assess the severity of symptoms.

3. * The Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10) to assess the assumption relating to drugs.

4. * The Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) to assess depression.

5. * The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) to determine the degree of life satisfaction.

Results

The average age of the group was 40,08 years. Fifteen patients had a primary school and 68% were unemployed. Socioeconomic level was low in 80% of cases. Paranoid schizophrenia was the predominant type (56%). The average duration of hospitalization was 7.28 weeks. Twenty patients consulted regularly after their first hospitalization. The insight was poor in half of cases. Twenty-six patients had a positive subjective response to treatment. The majority of subjects had no depression (84%). Eleven subjects were satisfied with their life.

The great insight was correlated with positive subjective response to treatment (p = 0.023).

Conclusion

The great insight was associated with better drug compliance, with a limited number of relapses and a favorable disease progression. However, it was also associated with poor life satisfaction.