Meta-analysis of symptom factors in schizophrenia.
Factor and correlational analyses have been used to characterize symptom dimensions in schizophrenia, though they have yielded divergent models. This study used meta-analysis of published work to determine the number and composition of symptom dimensions. Principal components analysis of data from 10 empirical studies (pooled n = 896) yielded three factors, 'positive', 'negative' and 'conceptual disorganization'. The findings suggest that a three-factor solution is a relatively stable outcome of studies assessing these symptoms in chronic patients, and that some symptoms (alogia, attentional impairment) are less likely to load uniquely on a single factor.
Queens Hospital Center, Department of Psychiatry, Jamaica, New York, NY 11432, USA.
B S
BS
Grube
R M
RM
Bilder
R S
RS
Goldman
D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000145:classification*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology