The relationship between insight and acute psychopathoiogy was ex­plored in 52 acutely psychotic schizo­phrenic patients. A measure of in­sight, reflecting patients, recognition of their illness and need for care, was applied together with the assessme­nts of patients - compliance with med­ication. The degree of insight was not consistently related to the severity of acute psychopathoiogy. Nor did changes in insight during hospitaliza-tion vary consistently with changes in acute psychopathclogy.
It was suggested that very little of the deficiency in insight seen in schiz­ophrenic patients is explainable on the basis of acute psychopathological features. The mechanism that ac­count for impairment of insight in schizophrenia is multidimensional and
investigators should pay careful atten­tion to the choice of measures as well as to phase of illness characteristics in future studies.