Comparison of process-reactive measures in schizophrenia

Studied 12 measures of process-reactive schizophrenia to determine their relative effectiveness in predicting outcome defined as symptomatic improvement. Each patient (N = 144) was rated on the process-reactive measures and at 3- and 6-month intervals on the Present State Examination to evaluate symptom change. Major findings were that the Ego-Strength, Stage of Illness, Kanto, Langfeldt, paranoid and chronicity criteria failed to predict outcome successfully. The first four criteria do not appear to be suitable process-reactive measures when the distinction is based on symptom change. However, paranoid-nonparanoid and chronic-acute criteria merit further investigation. The Ullmann-Giovannoni, Social Competence, Phillips scales, and marital status predicted outcome accurately at both 3- and 6-month evaluations. The Philips scale was the single best predictor of outcome at 3 months, while marital status was the best at 6 months. Overall, the Phillips scale was the most powerful and useful predictor of outcome.