ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to identify demographic variables and illness related variables which may affect the severity of self-engulfment in the patients with schizophrenia. We also studied the relationship between self-engulfment and insight, and the relationship between self-engulfment and self-esteem. METHODS: Data on demographic variables and illness related variables for the subjects were gathered from hospital records and clinical interviews by the psychiatrists. Degree of insight far the subjects was assessed through clinical interviews by the psychiatrists. Degree of self-engulfment and self-esteem for the subject was assessed from the self-engulfment scale and the self-esteem state respectively. A total of 111 patients with schizophrenia were selected for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 1) The females exhibited significantly higher socres than the males on the self-engulfment scale . 2) There was no illness related variable, which exhibited a significant difference among subgroups on the self-engulfment scale. 3) There was no significant correlation between the self-engulfment stores and the insight scores . 4) There was a significantly inverse correlation between the self-engulfment scores and the self esteem scores. CONCLUSION: The results of this preliminary study suggest that self-engulfment may develop despite lack of insight, and that there was inverse relationship between self-engulfment and self-esteem in the patients with schizophrenia. It also suggests that females are more subject to self-engulfment than males. So, authors suggest that it is valuable to do further studies of self-engulfment in the patients with schizophrenia.