The Role of Perceived Social Support in Explanation of Positive and Negative Syndrome in Patients with Schizophrenia

Chronic psychiatric patients not only become inactive members of community but also the heavy costs of their maintenance and rehabilitation burden on society and their family. According to importance of subject, this study aimed to investigate the role of percieved social support in predicting positive and negative syndrome in patients with schizophrenia. In this descriptive-correlational study, 124 patients have been selected among patients with schizophrenia hospitalized in Issar Psychiatric Hospital and Rehabilitation Centers in first 3 mounths of 2014 in Ardabil, Iran and completed Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and a researcher made demographic checklist. Data were analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate regression analysis on SPSS-16 software and P values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The mean age of participants was 36.34±9.09 and their education level was mostly (58%) primary or illiterate. Results showed that there is a negative relationship between patients positive symptoms index and their family, some others and total social support (p<0.01) and also between negative symptoms index and patients friends, some others and total social support (p<0.05). Results of multivariate regression analysis showed that 11% of positive and negative symptom syndrome are explained by percieved social support in patients with schizophrenia (p<0.01). Percieved social support has relationship with positive and negative syndrome of patients with schizophrenia and measures to increase resources of social support and promotion of patients percieved social support can be used as an effective intervention by clinicians, patients and their family.