Negative symptoms in first episode schizophrenia: Results from the “parma early psychosis” program

INTRODUCTION: Identifying distinct dimensions of negative symptoms in First Episode Schizophrenia (FES) might result in a better understanding and treatment of this invalidating symptomatology. OBJECTIVES: Aim of this study was to examine negative symptom structure in FES patients using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). METHODS: All 147 participants, aged 12–35 years, completed the PANSS and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. A principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to investigate PANSS negative symptom structure in the FES total sample. RESULTS: A 2-factor model (i.e. “Expressive Deficits” and “Asociality” dimensions) was identified. Only “Expressive Deficits” domain had a significant negative correlation with baseline GAF score. CONCLUSIONS: This bipartite solution seems to be adequate to describe the phenomenological variety of negative symptoms experienced by FES individuals at the point of entry in early intervention services. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships.