Aggressive and Non-Aggressive schizophrenics: Symptom profile and neuropsychological differences

Abstract

Thirteen aggressive schizophrenic patients (AS) from a maximum security psychiatric unit were compared to 13 non-aggressive schizophrenic patients (NAS) and to 13 healthy controls (HC), using case history data, ratings of psychopathy, schizophrenic symptoms, and neuropsychological tests. The AS had spent more time in prison than the NAS, had more crime and substance abuse among 1st degree relatives, had earlier problem onset, and scored significantly higher on psychopathy. There were no significant differences in schizophrenic symptoms between the two patient groups. The NAS group performed more poorly than the other two groups on most of the neuropsychological tests. However, on some frontal lobe sensitive tasks, the AS group was most impaired. The data suggest that the AS do not have a “double dose” of neuropsychological impairment, but rather the reverse. However, they do display a specific pattern of neuropsychological dysfunction that is consistent with frontal lobe dysfunction.

Key Words:

• schizophrenia
• aggression
• psychopathy
• neuropsychology