Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, UK.
Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK.
Br J Clin Psychol. 2020 Sep;59(3):319-334. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12248. Epub 2020 Apr 3.
Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia often experience both positive and negative symptoms. Negative symptoms can be disabling and have a serious impact on everyday functioning. Despite the range of clinician-rated measurement tools used to assess negative symptoms, very little is known about how individuals subjectively experience these symptoms. This study sought to examine, using qualitative methods, how people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia subjectively experience negative symptoms.
Qualitative study.
Semi-structured interviews were carried out with individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia who were experiencing negative symptoms. The sample was recruited from community and inpatient National Health Service mental health settings in the United Kingdom. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.
Twenty individuals took part. Individuals highlighted the persistent and enduring nature of their negative symptoms. Two central themes were identified: What it is like to experience negative symptoms and where have my negative symptoms come from? Within the first theme, four sub-themes emerged: loss of concentration, loss of motivation, withdrawal, and 'feeling but not feeling'. Within the second theme, four sub-themes emerged related to the causes of negative symptoms: impact of traumatic life events, positive psychotic symptoms, impact of social network, and recreational and prescribed drug use.
Individuals, who experience negative symptoms, were able to articulate the persistent and disabling nature of negative symptoms and clearly described factors which they believed contributed to the onset, exacerbation, and amelioration of the experiences.
Negative symptoms for people diagnosed with schizophrenia are persistent and enduring and impact an individual's life. There has been little research conducted qualitatively on individuals' subjective experiences of negative symptoms. Individuals who experience negative symptoms attribute these to a number of factors, including adverse life events, recreational and prescribed drug use, an absence of social support, and positive psychotic symptoms. Understanding negative symptoms is important for services, clinicians, and family members, where misattributions made about negative symptoms can lead to such experiences being dismissed.
患有精神分裂症的个体通常会经历阳性和阴性症状。阴性症状可能会导致残疾，并对日常功能产生严重影响。尽管有一系列临床医生使用的评定工具来评估阴性症状，但对于个体如何主观体验这些症状知之甚少。本研究旨在使用定性方法探讨诊断为精神分裂症的个体如何主观体验阴性症状。
定性研究。
对正在经历阴性症状的精神分裂症患者进行半结构式访谈。该样本是从英国的社区和住院国家卫生服务精神卫生机构招募的。使用主题分析对访谈进行分析。
共有 20 人参加。个体强调了他们阴性症状的持续和持久性质。确定了两个核心主题：体验阴性症状是什么感觉？以及我的阴性症状从何而来？在第一个主题中，出现了四个子主题：注意力不集中、失去动力、退缩和“感觉但没有感觉”。在第二个主题中，出现了四个与阴性症状原因相关的子主题：创伤性生活事件的影响、阳性精神病症状、社交网络的影响以及娱乐和处方药物的使用。
经历阴性症状的个体能够阐明阴性症状的持续和致残性质，并清楚地描述了他们认为导致这些症状出现、加重和缓解的因素。
被诊断患有精神分裂症的个体的阴性症状是持续存在且持久的，并影响个体的生活。关于个体对阴性症状的主观体验，很少进行定性研究。经历阴性症状的个体将这些症状归因于许多因素，包括不良生活事件、娱乐和处方药物的使用、缺乏社会支持以及阳性精神病症状。了解阴性症状对服务、临床医生和家庭成员很重要，因为对阴性症状的错误归因可能导致这些症状被忽视。
