184. Understanding the Nature of Negative Symptoms by Examining Their Relationship to Stressful Life Events in Recent-Onset Schizophrenia

Abstract

Background: Very strong evidence links negative symptom severity to poor social, work, and school functioning in schizophrenia patients. Patients with prominent negative symptoms appear to be less responsive to events in their environment. Alternatively, the social withdrawal seen in patients with negative symptoms might be their attempt to protect themselves from environmental stimulation. Examining these processes in young, recent-onset schizophrenia patients as compared to patients in more advanced stages of illness allows the impact of chronic adaptation of illness and social alien-ation to be limited. Method(s): The sample was comprised of patients who have had a recent onset of schizophrenia (n = 77) with a mean age = 23.4 (4.4) years who were treated with long-acting injectable antipsychotic medication and psychosocial interventions. Patients were assessed during the frst outpatient year after hospital discharge. Life events were measured every 4 weeks and negative symptoms were assessed (BPRS) every 2 weeks. Using the Proxy for Defcit Syndrome, modifed to take stability of negative symptoms into account, we identifed groups of patients with three levels of severity: Patients with the defcit syndrome (DS; n = 15), patients with prominent negative symptoms (NS) but not meeting criteria for the defcit syndrome (n = 23), and nonnegative symptom (NonNS) patients (n = 39). Result(s): ANOVA indicated signifcant differences among the three groups in the frequencies of life events (P