Exploring the Impact of Teaching Reading, Writing, and Math on the Mental State of Schizophrenic Patients

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of reading, writing, and math training on the mental state of schizophrenic patients. Methods & Materials: This clinical trial was performed on 60 patients with schizophrenia at Sina Hospital, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran. The patients were selected using a simple sampling method. The patients were randomly divided into two groups of patients undergoing routine treatment (control group) and patients under routine treatment with educational intervention (intervention group). In the intervention group, a trained person of the center held writing, reading, and math training sessions three days a week, each session for a maximum of 1 hour for six months. The study data were collected using Anderson’s positive and negative symptoms questionnaire and the mini-mental state examination. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS version 18 using the Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney test, and repeated measures analysis of variances. Findings: General scores of positive symptoms (P=0.038), hallucinations (P=0.033), delusions (P=0.023), and formal positive thought disorder (P=0.029) in the third measurement of the study were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group. Regarding the negative symptoms, in the third measurement, the affective blunting was significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (P=0.039). Mini-mental state examination score was also higher in the third measurement in the intervention group than in the control group (P=0.013). Conclusion: Reading, writing, and math education can be effective in improving the positive and less pronouncedly negative symptoms of patients with schizophrenia and improving their cognitive symptoms.