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Abstract:
There is conflicting evidence regarding the presence and/or
direction of gender differences in verbal memory capacity in
schizophrenia. We examined gender differences in verbal memory
performance in schizophrenia, and their interactions with repeated
assessments and psychiatric symptoms. California Verbal Learning
Test (CVLT) data were collected from 28 (11 females) schizophrenia
outpatients. CVLT was administered on five occasions, 3 months
apart. We performed an unbalanced repeated measures analysis of
CVLT data, using maximum likelihood estimates, with Brief
Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores at assessments 1-5 as a
time-varying covariate. There were significant main effects of time
and gender, with scores improving over time, and women performing
better than men. There was also a significant time by gender
interaction, with females' scores relatively steady over assessment
times, and males' scores increasing over assessment times. The BPRS
covariate effect was not significant, indicating that the above
differences were not due to symptomatology. Results have
implications for understanding the learning potential of male and
female schizophrenia patients, as well as implications for
gender-informed approaches to rehabilitation treatments mediated by
verbal memory skills.
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