Awareness of illness in schizophrenia: associations with multiple assessments of executive function.
Though insight in schizophrenia is correlated with flexibility in abstract thought, it is unclear how differing dimensions of executive functions are linked to insight. Accordingly, the authors administered the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder and the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System to 53 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Spearman Rho correlations revealed that symptom awareness was significantly related to Verbal Fluency, Color-Word, Tower, and Word Context scores. Awareness of treatment need was related to Color-Word, Tower, and Word Context tasks. Results suggest insight may be related to capacities to shift attention between differing environmental demands, plan ahead, and construct contextual understandings.
Lysaker
Paul H
PH
Day Hospital 116H, 1481 West 10th St., Roudebush VA Medical Center, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. plysaker@IUPUI.edu
Whitney
Kriscinda A
KA
Davis
Louanne W
LW
D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric