A study of information processing among patients with schizophrenia

• Published in: Indian journal of health and wellbeing Vol. 6; no. 6; p. 590
• Main Authors: Kumar, Varun, Priya, Aditi, Srivastava, Swati, Singh, Rahul, Ojha, Richa, Parasar, Ashok
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hisar Indian Association of Health, Research and Welfare 01.06.2015
• Subjects: Age; Information processing; Marital status; Quality; Sample size; Schizophrenia; Studies; Variables
• ISSN: 2229-5356; 2321-3698

Schizophrenia is the most persistent and disabling of the major illnesses. It affects approximately one in 100 people worldwide, affecting men and women almost equally. Information Processing in Rorschach Inkblot Test constitutes one of the clusters containing the cognitive activities of a person. Processing involves scanning a stimulus field and creating images of the field or its parts in Short Term Memory. Due to the disabling nature of the illness, patients with schizophrenia have difficulty in processing their stimulus field in an appropriate manner. Many elements like motivation, issues of economy, achievement needs, defensiveness, pre-established sets or preconceived attitudes, and so on, can influence processing strategies in a given situation. Very limited researches have been done on the information processing of schizophrenia patients with the help of Rorschach Inkblot Test. So this research will be an attempt on this path. To assess the information processing of patients with schizophrenia. 30 patients, diagnosed as having schizophrenia as per ICD-10 (DCR) were selected purposively for the study from the IPD and OPD of PGIBAMS, Raipur, as per their inclusion and exclusion criteria. For this purpose, Rorschach Inkblot Test was used. Scoring and interpretation of the tools was done according to Exner Comprehensive System. In this study 60% patients shown poor organizational activity in term of Zf (Organizational activity), 23.3% patients have under incorporative form of scanning activity in term of Zd (Processing efficiency), 76.7% patients further dealing with W: D: Dd (Ratio of location), it suggest that they have investing more effort than expected in processing the information, W:M (Aspirational ratio) provides less direct information about processing effort. 70% of patients show W responses to be greater than M, this tendency increases the probability of failure to achieve the objectives and the consequent impacts of those failures often produce frustration. In term of PSV (Perseveration) 6.7% show PSV greater than 1, suggesting the presence of significant difficulties in shifting their attention. On the basis of the results, it can be concluded that they have an atypical processing approach towards the stimuli.