[Interdependencies between anxiety versus premorbid and present self-image in patients with paranoid schizophrenia].

AIM

The aim of this work was to determine the relationship between anxiety versus premorbid and present self-image in patients with paranoid schizophrenia hospitalized for the first time as well as many a times. TESTED GROUP/MATERIAL: The test group consisted of 120 patients, hospitalized for the first time, aged 19-20 years and diagnosed according to ICD-10 with paranoid schizophrenia, who had suffered from this illness for a period not longer than 2 years. The other group consisted of patients aged 25 - 46, who had suffered from this disease for 5 - 15 years and who had been hospitalized many a times (3 > 10).

METHODS

In the tests' the H.G. Gough and A.B. Heilbrunn ACL Adjective test and R. Cattell's Ipat Anxiety Scale were used. The ACL test was done by the patients following the instruction "I am", "before the illness I was". The average, general anxiety level was correlated with the scales of the ACL test of the premorbid image and the present image in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The anxiety in patients with paranoid schizophrenia is connected both to the premorbid and the present self-image. 2. There is a more frequent and stronger relationship between anxiety and present self-images. 3. There are more interdependencies between anxiety and premorbid self-image in patients hospitalized for the first time. 4. There are more interdependencies between anxiety and present self-image in patients with chronic schizophrenia. 5. After the treatment there is no change of the direction of interdependencies but the strength of the relationship is getting deeper, the above tendency being manifested more often and stronger within the chronic group. 6. The higher the anxiety level, the more negative the self-esteem and the greater the need for support, whereas the need for self-accomplishment is lower.