Assessment of Rorschach response between patients with At Risk Mental State and schizophrenia

Poster A11, Monday, October%208, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom

Naoko Kishimoto1, Sohei Kimoto1, Tsubasa Morimoto1, Junya Ueda1, Junzo Iida2, Toshifumi Kishimoto1; 1Department of Psychiatry, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Nara, Japan, 2Faculty of Nursing, Nara Medical University School of Medicine, Kashihara, Nara, Japan

Objectives: At Risk Mental State (ARMS) is a remarkable concept of capturing the prodromal symptoms of those who could potentially develop psychosis or schizophrenia. Several lines of evidence suggest that an appropriate early intervention might ameliorate the onset and severity of schizophrenia. Therefore, identification of the specific biomarkers or psychological features should be informative to improve prediction and prognosis of who might develop a psychotic disorder. Here, we evaluated Rorschach profiles on the Rorschach test, which is widely used as a psychological test for psychosis, to compare quantitative tendencies between subjects with ARMS and first-episode schizophrenia (f-SZ). Methods: We performed the Rorschach test in intelligence quotient (IQ)-matched 17 ARMS and 20 f-SZ patients. Subsequently, Rorschach profiles were statistically compared between patients with ARMS and f-SZ. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the Nara Medical University. Results: In the Rorschach Comprehensive System, patients with f-SZ had a significantly higher score on Whole (W) than patients with ARMS, likely providing that patients with f-SZ tend to make concerns easier to simplify. In addition, longitudinal course of ARMS was followed by medical record. Within ARMS group, no significant difference was observed in Rorschach variables between those who developed SZ and who have not developed SZ. Conclusions: The present findings reveal that individuals with f-SZ might have, at least in part, a different psychological aspect relative to those with ARMS at a person’s subconscious level, suggesting that the Rorschach test might be helpful to understand the clinical features of ARMS.

Topic Area: Diagnosis and Phenomenology

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