Experiential anomalies and self-centrality in schizophrenia.
BACKGROUND
Contemporary psychopathological research has shown that some qualitative anomalies of the first-person experiential givenness qualify the subjective experience of schizophrenia. Such essential clinical features of schizophrenia have recently been condensed into 7 phenomenologically coherent clusters derived from the Bonn Scale for the Assessment of Basic Symptoms (BSABS). The experimental intent of this study was to test whether subapophanic self-centrality (i.e. a protopathic nondelusional form of intersubjective spatial disattunement) empowers the discriminant capacity of such a set of subjective experiential disturbances among different diagnostic groups.


METHODS
Three comparably sized samples of outpatients with schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive or mood disorders were examined with the BSABS. Logistic regression analysis was performed with diagnosis as the outcome variable.


RESULTS
Elevated scores in self-perceived cognitive disorders and abnormal self-centrality were associated with DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia. Self-centrality increased the discriminant capacity of the 7 designed a priori dimensions.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings confirm the previously reported aggregation of some subtle qualitative alterations of subjective experience in schizophrenia, and suggest that a careful consideration of autocentric disturbances of intersubjectivity might enrich current heuristics on schizophrenic experiential vulnerability.
Raballo
Andrea
A
Neuroscience Department, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Maggini
Carlo
C
D000328:Adult; D003702:Delusions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D010465:Perception; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012649:Self Concept