Insight and apathy in patients with paranoid schizophrenia: Rehabilitation approaches

Abstract

Introduction

For many decades, clinicians were very well aware of lack of insight in patients with paranoid form of schizophrenia. This group of patients is not only less compliant with pharmacotherapy, but also is hard to manage in the rehabilitation setting. This dictates the necessity to develop special approaches to this group of patients, based on clinical data.

Method

Fifty patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder were randomly recruited to be assessed by PANSS scale and Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), which was introduced both by trained clinicians (C) and as a self-assessment measure (S). Demographic data was collected along with clinical description on prevailing symptoms during acute phase.

Results

While AES-C scores were very well correlated with PANSS motivation subscale, AES-S scores showed prominent discrepancies both with PANSS items and AES-C version. Lower scores on AES-S were also associated with paranoid schizophrenia and prevailing delusional symptoms in acute phase. As well AES-C/AES-S ratio also correlated with paranoid form and delusional symptoms in manifest psychoses.

Discussion

Patients with paranoid schizophrenia not only lack insight into positive symptoms, but tend to underestimate their negative symptoms such as motivation and apathy. Clinically, this can be described by overestimated strengths, overstated expectations, exaggerated hopes, mistakenly overrated beliefs. But when faced with reality, these patients are unable to adjust themselves and frequently are negativistic to offered help and therapies.

Conclusion

We assume that paranoid patients should be treated not with straightforward strategies, such as psychoeducation, but with less stigmatizing methods that work on metacognitive and motivational levels.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.