OBJECTIVE: Evaluate from a psychological point of view cognitive aspects of schizophrenic patients, associated with the antipsychotic medicine type taken. METHODS: The study analyzed three groups: group 1 patients medicated with haloperidol (n = 14); group 2 - patients medicated with clozapine (n =16). Groups 1 and 2 were schizophrenic men under psychiatric treatment at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA). The age of all subjects ranged from 18 to 59 years. The following tools were used in the study: the Operational Checklist for Psychotic Illness (OPCRIT) to diagnose schizophrenia, and the Rorschach technique. The Rorschach data was subject to a variance analysis (ANOVA) followed by a Bonferroni test with a confidence interval of p < 0.05. RESULTS: Group 1 presented F+ < 80%; FK < KF + K; FC < CF + C. Group 2 presented F+ > 80%; FK = KF + K; FC > CF + C. Both groups presented sigmaF within the clinical range considered normal. CONCLUSION: The results show that patients medicated with clozapine present a relative capacity to participate on activities and tasks. Besides, they can control impulses and instincts by intellectual means in a superior fashion than patients medicated with haloperidol. Finally, it was also concluded that clozapine users present a greater ability to tolerate frustration, and a better general intellectual performance than haloperidol users.
Rorschach; schizophrenia; antipsychotic medication
