Psychotic Symptoms in Schizophrenia After the Acute Phase*

Sixty schizophrenic and 34 nonschizophrenic patients were assessed 3 years after discharge on 17 types of psychotic symptoms. Schizophrenics were significantly higher than nonschizophrenic patients on the overall index of psychotic features (p less than .01) and on the index of delusions (p less than .01). Using a weighted estimate, 38.5 percent of the nonparanoid schiziphrenics showed clear evidence of psychotic features, and another 20.5 percent showed some evidence of psychotic features which were weak or sporadic or which the patients seemed able to bring into perspective. Schizophrenic subdiagnosis did not predict later psychotic sysmptoms, although there was a trend for more psychotic features in paranoid and in chronic schizophrenics. The belief that psychotic symptoms in schiziphrenia are not just temporary states was supported. However, conceptions about psychotic symptoms persisting in all schizophrenics were not affirmed.