Decreased Self-Concept Clarity in People with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Disturbances in the perception of self are thought to be central to the development of psychosis. Self-concept clarity (SCC) is the extent to which one’s beliefs about oneself are internally consistent, stable, and clear. Participants with schizophrenia (N = 54) and healthy controls (N = 32) completed the Me Not-Me Decision Task (MNMDT), in which they decided whether 60 adjectives (30 pairs of antonyms), did or did not describe themselves. SCC is conceptualized as the number of consistent responses. Participants also completed the Self-Concept Clarity Scale (SCCS). Compared to healthy controls, participants with schizophrenia scored lower on the MNMDT and SCCS, and scores were negatively correlated with positive and negative symptoms. In a simultaneous regression, SCCS scores were uniquely associated with positive symptoms, while MNMDT scores were uniquely associated with negative symptoms. This suggests that people with schizophrenia have decreased self-concept claritythat is related to positive and negative symptoms.

Self-Event Connections in Life Stories, Self-Concept Clarity, and Dissociation: Examining Their Relations with Symptoms of Psychopathology

“…Indeed, it is consistent with a broad array of theories and studies emphasizing that individuals are strongly motivated to see themselves positively and that a positive self-view is often related to psychological health (e.g., Sedikides & Gregg, 2008;Taylor & Brown, 1988). Self-concept clarity and dissociation were, in agreement with previous studies, also related to severity of symptoms, confirming the idea that lack of self-unity is associated with psychopathology (e.g., Butzer & Kuiper, 2006;Campbell et al, 2003;Cicero, Martin, Becker, & Kerns, 2016;Marloes et al, 2014;Norton et al, 1990;Schwartz et al, 2011;Spindler & Elklit, 2003;Stopa, Brown, Luke, & Hirsch, 2010;van Ijzendoorn & Schuengel, 1996). The finding that all three measures of self-unity contributed to explaining variance in symptoms testifies to the importance of considering different aspects of self-unity in relation to psychopathology.…”

Cognitive Gain or Handicap: Magical Ideation and Self-Absorption in Clinical and Non-clinical Participants

“…Furthermore, in patients with SSD, AB is a strong predictor of the intensity of both positive and negative symptoms (Cicero et al, 2016). However, they are adaptive in cases where a person is immersed in social/physical reality or a computer-generated virtual environment (Léger et al, 2014).…”

On the evolution of the human self: A data-driven review and reconsideration

“…Moreover, humans who have a well-formed self do better than those who do not. For example, the ability to experience a self may be diminished in persons with schizophrenic disorder (Cicero, Martin, Becker, & Kerns, 2016) and persons with autistic spectrum disorder (Lind, 2010;Lyons & Fitzgerald, 2013; for a review, see Molnar-Szakacs & Uddin, 2016). Clearly, these individuals do not function as well as those whose self system is relatively intact.…”