Clinical and cognitive insight in patients with acute-phase psychosis: Association with treatment
and neuropsychological functioning
Sammanfattning
Background: The severity of psychopathology cannot fully explain deficits in the multi-
dimensional construct of insight.
Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlates and associations of clinical and cognitive
insight in patients in an acute phase of psychosis and to analyse the impact of acute treatment on
these variables.
Methods: This study examined 47 inpatients who were recently hospitalized with acute exacerbation
of schizophrenia. All subjects were assessed at both admission and discharge with the Positive and
Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Schedule for the Assessment of Insight-Expanded Version (SAI-
E), Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS), and a neurocognition battery.
Results: Patients with schizophrenia gained clinical insight after treatment. Cognitive insight did not
change significantly after treatment. Insight showed significant negative correlations with positive
symptoms and general psychopathology, but not with negative symptoms. Clinical insight was not
associated with neuropsychological functioning in this cohort.
Conclusion: Gaining clinical insight in the acute phase of illness was associated with the remission
of positive symptoms, but not with neuropsychological functioning. Some significant correlations
between clinical and cognitive insights were detected, which suggests that cognitive insight
contributes to clinical insight but is not treatment-dependent. Long-term treatment may be required to
understand the contribution of insight to the outcome of patients with schizophrenia.