The person in recovery from acute and severe psychosis: the role of dependency, self-criticism, and efficacy

Abstract

The role of 3 personality dimensions (i.e., dependency, self-criticism, and efficacy) in recovery from an acute and severe psychosis was examined. Conceptualizing psychosis as involving difficulties in establishing psychological boundaries, the authors hypothesized that dependency has a greater disruptive effect on recovery than self-criticism. Results of a reanalysis of longitudinal data (N = 76) of people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders during recovery from acute psychosis were consistent with this hypothesis: Dependency predicted depressive and negative symptoms, and, under low efficacy, perceived loss of independence and insight into the presence of the illness. These findings elucidate the central role of interpersonal relatedness as a foundation for self-definition in recovery from psychosis.