A review of the psychiatric literature suggests that obsessional thinking and obsessive-compulsive neurosis may well be antecedents of schizophrenia. This is in keeping with the observation that severe anxiety and phobias are occasionally seen in the prodromal stage of schizophrenia. In rare cases established schizophrenics may continue to have obsessions. Clinical examples are presented in vignette form. The emergence of obsessional thinking de novo in the established schizophrenic must be considered a rare phenomenon.
References
1.
AbrahamK.: “Contribution to the Theory of the Anal Character, 1921,“ in Selected Papers on Psychoanalysis.New York: Basic Books, 1953.
2.
ArietiS.: Interpretation of Schizophrenia.New York: Basic Books, 1974.
3.
BleulerE.: Textbook of Psychiatry, 1911. Translated by A.A. Brill. New York: Macmillan Company, 1924.
4.
FreudS.: “Character and Anal-Erotism, 1908,“ In Standard Edition, of the Complete Works of Sigmund Freud. Vol. 9. New York: International Universities Inc.1973.
5.
GordonA.: Obsessions in their relation to psychoses.Am J Psychiatry5: 647–59, 1926.
6.
GordonA.: Transitions of obsessions into delusions.Am J Psychiatry107: 455–58, 1960.
7.
HendersonD.K., GillespieR.D.: Textbook of Psychiatry.London: Oxford University Press, 1944.
8.
JahrreissW.: Obsessions during schizophrenia.Archieve für Psychiatrie77: 740–88, 1926.
9.
JonesE.: “Anal-Erotic Character Traits, 1919,“ in Papers on Psychoanalysis.London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1950.
10.
KahnE.: Psychopathic Personalities.New Haven: Yale University Press, 1931.
11.
KolbL.: Modern Clinical Psychiatry.Toronto: W.B. Saunders, 1973.
12.
KringlenE.: Obsessional neurotics: A long term follow-upBr J Psychiatry111: 709–22, 1965.
13.
LewisA.: Problems of obsessional illness.Proc Roy Soc Med29: 325–36, 1936.
14.
Mayer-GrossW.: In Handbuch der Geistes-krankenheiten. Edited by BumkeO.. Vol. 9, p. 459. Berlin: Springer,1932.
15.
Mayer-GrossW., SlaterE., RothM.: Clinical Psychiatry.London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cassell, 1969.
16.
MullerC.H.: Vorlaufige Mitteilung zur langen Katamnese der Zwangskranken.Nervenarzt24: 112–15, 1953.
17.
PollittJ.: Natural history of obsessional states.Br Med Ji: 194–98, 1957.
18.
RosenI.: The clinical significance of obsessions in schizophrenia.J Ment Sci103: 773–85, 1957.
RudinG.: Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Zwangskrankheit.Archieve für Psychiatrie und Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft der Neurologischen Psychiatrie191: 14–54, 1953.
21.
SchneiderK.: Psychologie der Schizophrenen.Leipzig: Thieme, 1930.
22.
StengelE.: A study on some clinical aspects of the relationship between obsessional neurosis and psychotic types.J Ment Sci91: 166–87, 1945.
23.
SullivanH.S.: Clinical Studies in Psychiatry. Edited by GawelH.S., and GibbonM.New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1956.
