Major psychoses symptomatology: Factor analysis of 2241 psychotic subjects

Alessandro Serretti, Marcella Rietschel, Enrico Lattuada, Harald Krauss, Thomas G. Schulze, Daniel J. Müller, Wolfgang Maier, Enrico Smeraldi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Current nosography classifies major psychoses as separate disorders, but their symptomatological presentation during illness episodes largely overlaps and diagnoses may change during a lifetime. Few analyses of major psychoses symptomatology have been performed so far because of the large number of subjects needed to obtain stable factors. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to identify the symptomatologic structure common to major psychoses based on lifetime symptoms. Two thousand and forty-one inpatients affected by schizophrenic (n=1008), bipolar (n=563), major depressive (n=352), delusional (n=108) and psychotic not otherwise specified disorder (n=210) were rated for lifetime symptoms using the Operational Criteria Checklist for Psychotic Illness (OPCRIT) and included in a factorial analysis. Four factors were obtained, the first consisted of excitement symptoms, the second comprised psychotic features (delusions and hallucinations), the third comprised depression and the fourth disorganization. When scored by the OPCRIT checklist, major psychoses symptomatology is composed of excitement, depressive, delusion and disorganization symptoms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)193-198
Number of pages6
JournalEuropean Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
Volume251
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Bipolar disorder
  • Depression
  • Factor analysis
  • Mood disorder
  • Paranoid disorder
  • Schizophrenia

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Clinical Neurology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Major psychoses symptomatology: Factor analysis of 2241 psychotic subjects'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this