Correlates of homelessness among substance abuse patients at a VA medical center.

Abstract

Hospital and Community Psychiatry May 1994 Vol. 45 No. 5 491 tom clusters holds in the general population as well (5). Likewise, in both clinical and nonclinical populations, the diagnostic group with the highest rate of childhood abuse consistently reports the most Schneidenian symptoms (4,5). No studies disconfinrning this pattern have been reported. Therefore, it is possible that the findings in this study are valid and generalizable. There may be at least two pathways to positive symptoms of schizophrenia. One may be primarily endogenously driven and accompanied by predominant negative symptoms. The other may be primarily driven by childhood psychosocial trauma and accompanied by fewer negative symptoms. Ifoun findings are valid and generalizable, the existence oftwo pathways to positive symptoms of schizophrenia may need to be taken into account in studies of the genetics, epidemiology, biological markers, psychopharmacology, and psychosocial treatment of schizophrenia. The diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia should emphasize negative symptoms and recognize the diagnostic nonspecificity of positive symptoms.