Cognitive deficit in patients with schizophrenia living in the rural area of the Krasnoyarsk territory and its effects on their adaptation

Objective. To evaluate the effects of the cognitive deficiency on adaptation of schizophrenic patients, living in rural areas. Materials and Methods. 30 patients with schizophrenia, living in rural areas. Cognitive impairment was evaluated using the neuropsychological methods and PANSS. Results and Discussion. Cognitive impairment affects the social adaptation of patients. Cognitive deficiency arising in schizophrenia limits the individual's ability to adapt to changing conditions of the environment. The conducted study allows evaluating the effects of cognitive deficiency, revealed in patients with schizophrenia living in rural areas, on adaptive possibilities. Neuropsychological criteria of cognitive deficiency are defined. A significant reduction in the performance of all neuropsychological tests by patients is established; an association between the level of cognitive deficiency and the duration of the disease and its effects on the type of adaptation and individual compensatory-adaptive defense of patients is noted. Among patients suffering from schizophrenia for more than ten years, the destructive type of adaptation prevails and individual compensatory-adaptive defense by the type of “seeking cover under the care”.