Relation Between Insight and Social Function Among Patients with Schizophrenia

Background: Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder with a significant risk of impaired insight and social function. The aim of this study was to assess the relation between insight and social function among patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Research design: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. Setting: this study was conducted at the psychiatric inpatient wards at EL-Azazy Hospital for Mental Health, Sharkia Governorate, Abo-Hammad City. Participants: A purposive sample of 140 schizophrenic patients were included. Tools of data collection: Three tools were used for data collection, including a structured interviewing questionnaire, The Birchwood Insight Scale (BIS) and the inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation outcome scale (IPROS). Results: The study findings revealed that slightly more than half of the studied patients had no insight and slightly less than half of them had high level of social dysfunction Furthermore, there were highly statistically significant positive correlation between patient's total social function and total insight. Conclusion: The patients' social function and overall insight scores showed a highly statistically significant positive correlation. Recommendation: The present study recommends developing training programs for psycho-social skills in order to improve social functioning and insight in patients with schizophrenia.