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Obsessive–compulsive symptom severity in schizophrenia: a Janus Bifrons effect on functioning

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European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience Aims and scope Submit manuscript

In ancient Roman religion, Janus was the god of beginning and transitions and the guardian of doorways and gates.

He was usually represented with a two-faced head, looking both to the future and to the past, thus symbolizing the bivalent nature underlying any life movement or change.

Abstract

The impact of obsessive–compulsive symptoms on functioning in schizophrenia is still debated. This study investigated the relationship between OC symptoms and functioning along a severity gradient of obsessive–compulsive dimension. Sixty patients affected by schizophrenia completed the SCID-IV, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, the Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale and the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale. The relationship between functioning and obsessive–compulsive dimension was described by a reverse U-shaped curve; functioning was positively related to the presence of mild obsessive–compulsive symptoms and inversely related to moderate and severe symptoms, after controlling for the severity of positive, negative, disorganization and general psychopathological symptoms. The role of obsessive–compulsive symptoms on social functioning in schizophrenia occurs along a severity continuum with a gradual transition from a positive correlation (from absent to mild symptoms) to an inverse correlation (for symptoms ranging from moderate to severe) and independently from schizophrenia symptom dimensions.

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Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatric Unit, University of Parma, Ospedale Maggiore, Padiglione Braga, Viale A. Gramsci 14, 43126, Parma, Italy

    Matteo Tonna, Rebecca Ottoni, Francesca Paglia, Paolo Ossola, Chiara De Panfilis & Carlo Marchesi

  2. Department of Mental Health, Local Health Service, Parma, Italy

    Matteo Tonna, Chiara De Panfilis & Carlo Marchesi

Authors
  1. Matteo Tonna
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  2. Rebecca Ottoni
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  3. Francesca Paglia
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  4. Paolo Ossola
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  5. Chiara De Panfilis
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  6. Carlo Marchesi
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Correspondence to Matteo Tonna.

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Tonna, M., Ottoni, R., Paglia, F. et al. Obsessive–compulsive symptom severity in schizophrenia: a Janus Bifrons effect on functioning. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 266, 63–69 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-015-0608-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-015-0608-y

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