Relation of formal thought disorder to symptomatic remission and social functioning in schizophrenia

Abstract

ObjectiveThe aim of this cross-sectional study is to examine the relation of formal thought disorder (FTD) with symptomatic remission (SR) and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. MethodThe study was carried out with a sample consisting of 117 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV. The patients were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Thought and Language Index (TLI), and the Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP). We used logistic regression in order to determine the relation between FTD and SR and linear regression to identify the strength of association between FTD and social functioning. ResultsLogistic regression analysis revealed that poverty of speech (odds ratio: 1.47, p<0.01) and peculiar logic (odds ratio: 1.66, p=0.01) differentiated the remitted patients from the non-remitted ones. Linear regression analysis showed that the PSP total score was associated with poverty of speech and peculiar logic items of the TLI (B=−0.23, p<0.01, B=−0.24, p=0.01, respectively). ConclusionOur findings suggest that poverty of speech and peculiar logic are the specific domains of FTD which are related to both SR status and social functioning in patients with schizophrenia.