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Insight and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: evidence for a curvilinear relationship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Mike Startup
Mike Startup*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University College of North Wales, Bangor
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Mike Startup, Department of Psychology, University College of North Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2DG.
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Synopsis

Both motivational and defect theories have been offered to explain variations in insight among schizophrenic individuals but the results of tests of these theories have been inconclusive and inconsistent. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that both motivation and cognitive deficits affect insight, with a trade-off between the two processes, giving rise to quadratic relationships between insight and cognitive deficits. Twenty-six schizophrenic patients completed battery of neuropsychological tests and participated in an interview designed to assess insight. In a multiple regression analysis predicting test results from insight scores, the linear component was non-significant while the quadratic component accounted for a highly significant 56% of the variance. Theoretical and clinical implications of this result are discussed briefly.

Type
Brief Communication
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 6 , November 1996 , pp. 1277 - 1281
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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