Psychiatric symptoms mediate the effects of neurological soft signs on functional outcomes in patients with chronic schizophrenia: A longitudinal path-analytic study

Abstract Neurological soft signs (NSS) in motor coordination and sequencing occur in schizophrenia patients and are an intrinsic sign of the underlying neural dysfunctions. The present longitudinal study explored the relationships among NSS, psychiatric symptoms, and functional outcomes in 151 Chine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 2017-03, Vol.249, p.152-158
Main Authors: Fong, Ted C.T, Ho, Rainbow T.H, Wan, Adrian H.Y, Au-Yeung, Friendly S.W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Daily functioning
Disorganized symptoms
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Mediation
Middle Aged
Motor Skills - physiology
Negative symptoms
Neurologic Examination
Neurological deficits
Path analysis
Phenotype
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatry
Schizophrenia - diagnosis
Schizophrenia - physiopathology
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Summary:Abstract Neurological soft signs (NSS) in motor coordination and sequencing occur in schizophrenia patients and are an intrinsic sign of the underlying neural dysfunctions. The present longitudinal study explored the relationships among NSS, psychiatric symptoms, and functional outcomes in 151 Chinese patients with chronic schizophrenia across a 6-month period. The participants completed neurological assessments at baseline (Time 1), psychiatric interviews at Time 1 and 3-month follow-up (Time 2), and self-report measures on daily functioning at 6-month follow-up (Time 3). Two possible (combined and cascading) path models were examined on predicting the functional outcomes. Direct and indirect effects of Time 1 NSS on Time 3 functional outcomes via Time 2 psychiatric symptoms were evaluated using path analysis under bootstrapping. Motor coordination and sequencing NSS did not have significant direct effects on functional outcomes. Motor coordination NSS exerted significant and negative indirect effects on functional outcomes via psychiatric symptoms. These results contribute to a better understanding of the determinants of functional outcomes by showing significant indirect pathways from motor coordination NSS to functional outcomes via psychiatric symptoms. That motor sequencing NSS did not affect functional outcomes either directly or indirectly may be explained by their trait marking features.
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.01.023