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The Distinction Between the Affective Psychoses and Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

I. F. Brockington ,
R. E. Kendell ,
S. Wainwright ,
V. F. Hillier  and
J. Walker
I. F. Brockington*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
R. E. Kendell
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
S. Wainwright
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
V. F. Hillier
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
J. Walker
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr I. F. Brockington, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of South Manchester, Manchester M20 8LR.
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Summary

In an attempt to demonstrate a valid boundary between schizophrenia and the affective psychoses, discriminant function analyses have been carried out with history, mental state and follow-up data in two populations of patients. A bimodal distribution of discriminant scores was obtained in one of them (a general psychotic sample of 128 patients), using a discriminant function derived from the same sample; but when the function was applied to the second population (a schizoaffective sample of 106 patients) the distribution was ambiguous. Functions derived from the schizoaffective sample produced highly skewed distributions of discriminant scores in the general psychotic sample.

Kraepelin's hypothesis that the functional psychoses consist of two distinct disease entities receives some support from our findings, but there is still no compelling evidence that the universe of psychotic patients falls naturally into these two groups.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 135 , Issue 3 , September 1979 , pp. 243 - 248
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1979 

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Footnotes

2

Present address: University Department of Psychiatry (Royal Edinburgh Hospital), Morningside Park, Edinburgh.

3

Present address: Manor Hospital, Epsom, Surrey.

4

Present address: Department of Community Medicine, University of Manchester.

5

Present address: 18 Beaumont Court, Handforth, Wilmslow, Cheshire.

References

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