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A self‐report Insight Scale for psychosis: reliability, validity and sensitivity to change
Author(s) -
Birchwood M.,
Smith J.,
Drury V.,
Healy J.,
Macmillan F.,
Slade M.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1994.tb01487.x
Subject(s) - conceptualization , psychology , psychosis , inter rater reliability , clinical psychology , psychometrics , attribution , scale (ratio) , test validity , cognition , reliability (semiconductor) , psychiatry , psychotherapist , developmental psychology , rating scale , social psychology , physics , power (physics) , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Lack of insight is a frequent concomitant of psychosis and has traditionally been viewed as a binary, all or none phenomenon. Recent conceptualization has formulated insight as a continuum representing the juxtaposition of 3 factors – awareness of illness, need for treatment and attribution of symptoms. Measurement of insight has been exclusively based on interview; this method does not easily lend itself to frequent repeated measurement and requires interrater reliability to be established. A self‐report Insight Scale is presented, and evidence in support of its reliability, validity and sensitivity is provided that includes a sample of 30 patients monitored during recovery from an acute psychosis. The scale is a quick and acceptable measure that may find application in investigations of acute care, cognitive therapy of psychotic symptoms and as a method of augmenting clinical judgements of insight.