Insight in paranoid schizophrenia - Its relationship to psychopathology and premorbid adjustment

The patient's insight in the course of a mental disease has recently become a matter of interest for psychiatrists. Various aspects of insight are examined, as well as the relationship between insight and different clinical variables. In the current study, we examined correlations between aspects of insight and intensity of psychopathological symptoms, occurrence of the various types of delusions, and the level of premorbid adjustment in patients with paranoid schizophrenia. We found significant relationships between poor insight and negative symptoms, thought-broadcasting, delusions of grandeur and sexual delusions, and worse premorbid adjustment in late adolescence and adulthood. Copyright (C) 1998 by W.B. Saunders Company.