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Is Personal Recovery in Schizophrenia Predicted by Low Cognitive Insight?

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Abstract

Recovery is a widely discussed concept in the field of research, treatment, and public policy regarding serious mental illness, and mainly schizophrenia. Aim of our study was to assess the relationship between personal recovery and prediction variables, as psychopathology, neurocognition, clinical and cognitive insight, and social functioning in inpatients affected by schizophrenia, with a special interest on cognitive insight. We assessed 76 inpatients affected by schizophrenia at their hospital discharge. Instruments included the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale, the Insight Scale and the Recovery Assessment Scale to assess the cognitive and clinical insight, and personal recovery. The neurocognitive assessment was represented by a single factor score produced by a principal components analysis of a neurocognitive test battery. Social functioning was measured also. Low self-reflectiveness of cognitive insight represented the best predictors of personal recovery. The relationship between cognitive insight and recovery found in this study may contribute to develop tailored interventions, taking into account the personal sense of recovery, despite the psychopathological evaluation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, Unit of Psychiatry, University of L’Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito, 67100, L’Aquila, Italy

    Laura Giusti, Donatella Ussorio, Valeria Bianchini, Massimo Casacchia & Rita Roncone

  2. School of Specialization of Psychiatry, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Adele Tosone & Chiara Di Venanzio

  3. Section of Epidemiology, Department of Health, Life and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Stefano Necozione

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  1. Laura Giusti
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  2. Donatella Ussorio
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  3. Adele Tosone
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  4. Chiara Di Venanzio
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  5. Valeria Bianchini
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  6. Stefano Necozione
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  7. Massimo Casacchia
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  8. Rita Roncone
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Correspondence to Rita Roncone.

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Giusti, L., Ussorio, D., Tosone, A. et al. Is Personal Recovery in Schizophrenia Predicted by Low Cognitive Insight?. Community Ment Health J 51, 30–37 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-014-9767-y

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