Schizophrenic Patients’ Self-perceptions: Legal and Clinical Implications

Abstract

The present research is concerned with schizophrenic patients’ perceptions of their own mental health and the relationship of these perceptions to clinical characteristics and cognitive performance. A structured interview was administered to 20 male and 16 female outpatients. When queried about their mental status, 30% of the males and 6% of the females reported that they did not perceive themselves as mentally ill. This sex difference was statistically significant, and there were trends toward greater willingness on the part of women to acknowledge symptoms. Patients who stated that they perceived themselves to be mentally ill had a shorter duration of most recent hospitalization, a smaller number of previous hospitalizations, and greater compliance with treatment. These patients also showed better performance on a measure of attentional abilities. The results are inconsistent with the idea that self-labeling in mental illness has negative consequences. The theoretical, clinical and legal implications of the findings are discussed.