This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Nechamkin, Y. Articles by Ponizovsky, A. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nechamkin, Y. Articles by Ponizovsky, A. M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Depression Family Issues Schizophrenia Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Interpersonal Distance in Schizophrenic Patients: Relationship to Negative Syndrome

Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, Hadera, Israel

Igor Salganik

Psychogeriatric Department, Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, Hadera, Israel

Ilan Modai

Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, Hadera, and Bruce Rappoport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel

Alexander M. Ponizovsky

Institute for Psychiatric Research, Sha'ar Menashe Mental Health Center, Hadera; and Departmant of Research and Planning, Mental Health Services, the Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel, alexander.ponizovsky{at}moh.health.gov.il

Background: Personal space is the area individuals maintain around themselves into which others cannot intrude without arousing discomfort.

Objective: We tested the hypotheses that psychological distancing of patients with schizophrenia would be a characteristic of 1) diagnosis and/or 2) syndrome.

Methods: For this aim, 30 schizophrenic and 30 age matching normal males established comfortable interpersonal distances for 20 word-stimuli representing family members, significant others, self-images, emotionally neutral and threatening surroundings. The distances were assessed by a paper-and-pencil projective measure, the Comfortable Interpersonal Distance scale and the patients' psycho-pathological symptoms were quantified by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. t-tests and correlational analyses were employed to examine the relation-ships between the parameters of interest.

Results: The rank order (hierarchy) of preferable interpersonal distances of patients with schizophrenia was similar to that of normal subjects. At the same time, psychological distance from family members and themselves was substantially larger among the patients. There were no significant correlations between any kind of interpersonal distance and positive syndrome of schizophrenia, while negative syndrome showed significant inverse association with distances from emotionally neutral and threatening figures and positive correlation with family member and self-image distances.

Conclusion: The results suggest that the negative syndrome of schizophrenia attenuates the differences between interpersonal distances from generally close and distant persons.

International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 49, No. 3, 166-174 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/00207640030493002


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. Ozdemir Shopping Malls: Measuring Interpersonal Distance under Changing Conditions and across Cultures Field Methods, August 1, 2008; 20(3): 226 - 248. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Lauber, C. Nordt, H. Haker, L. Falcato, and W. Rossler Community Psychiatry: Results of a Public Opinion Survey International Journal of Social Psychiatry, May 1, 2006; 52(3): 234 - 242. [Abstract] [PDF]