Lack of concordance between subjective improvement and symptom change in psychotic episodes

Kupper, Zeno; Tschacher, Wolfgang (2008). Lack of concordance between subjective improvement and symptom change in psychotic episodes. British journal of clinical psychology, 47(Pt 1), pp. 75-93. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell 10.1348/014466507X246780

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OBJECTIVES: Subjective, self-rated improvement in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders can carry significance as a first-person account of treatment outcome, and can be of importance for the individual patient's acceptance of further treatment, including psychological treatments. This study assessed the concordance between post-treatment subjective improvement and the observed symptom change after a psychotic episode. DESIGN: Longitudinal study based on daily symptom ratings. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 43 younger, primarily first- or second-episode patients. Observed symptom change was calculated as both pre-post differences and symptom trajectories. Subjective improvement was assessed at the end of treatment by using the 'Emotional and Behavioural Changes in Psychotherapy Questionnaire' (VEV), a retrospective measure of subjective change. RESULTS: The findings indicated no significant concordance between pre-post differences in symptoms and self-rated improvement, nor were final levels of symptoms related to subjective improvement. Higher initial and mean symptom levels for positive symptoms were related to a lower degree of subjective improvement. A shorter duration of an initial trend-like improvement in psychosis was shown to be associated with greater subjective improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Subjective assessment of improvement may differ markedly from symptom change. In psychotic episodes, more severe initial positive symptoms as well as a delayed improvement of positive symptoms may be related to a reduced subjective experience of improvement for the duration of the entire episode. The treatment of psychosis should take a possible discordance between subjective and objective change into account.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy > Psychotherapy
UniBE Contributor:	Kupper, Zeno, Tschacher, Wolfgang
ISSN:	0144-6657
ISBN:	17927846
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
Language:	English
Submitter:	Factscience Import
Date Deposited:	04 Oct 2013 14:55
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:17
Publisher DOI:	10.1348/014466507X246780
PubMed ID:	17927846
Web of Science ID:	000253768900005
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/23595 (FactScience: 42766)