Hope and symptoms in psychosis

Abstract

Introduction

Hope is considered as an important factor in recovery from severe mental illness. So far it has been studied in patients with depression, anxiety disorders and post traumatic stress disorder, whereas empirical studies involving people with psychosis are scarce and their results are inconclusive.

Aim

We aimed at evaluating the relationship between

• (i) hope and positive as well as negative psychotic symptoms and

• (ii) hope and depression in people with psychosis.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study 148 patients with schizophrenia and schizo-affective disorder were interviewed by a psychologist who rated the positive and negative symptoms on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Hope and depression were measured using the self-assessment scales Integrative Hope Scale (IHS) and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).

Results

No statistically significant correlation was found between hope and positive symptoms (r = .071, p = .414). Hope and negative symptoms, however, showed a statistically significant negative correlation (r = -.196, p = .023), as did hope and depression (r = -.255, p = .003). This latter relationship remained significant after controlling for negative symptoms in a partial correlation (r = -.216, p = .013).

Conclusion

While hope appears unrelated to positive symptoms, a significant correlation with negative symptoms and depression was found. These results emphasise the potential importance of hope as a target variable to support recovery in patients with psychosis. However, prospective studies are needed to clarify the causal relationships between hope and symptoms of psychotic disorders.