Introduction
mental illness, neurocognitive deficits, psychosis, human traits, psychotic symptoms, schizophrenia
SECONDARY, PATHOLOGY
Traditionally, psychiatry has been defined and established as a profession and research domain that focuses on the study and treatment of mechanisms of mental pathology, including psychosis. However, the field is experiencing a current expansion, increasingly incorporating an additional emphasis on outcomes which had formerly often been—and still are—labelled as ‘secondary’, such as e.g., well-being, coping, self-esteem, or social functioning. This broadening of perspective has significantly been promoted by the ‘recovery movement’, which has been criticizing the deficit- and often deterministic view on individuals affected by (particularly severe) mental illness [Quite similarly, positive psychology has explicitly been intended as a balancing, alternative view and research agenda to complement the deficit-focused DSM [On the other hand, the impact of negative views upon the self, or self- / social stigma, can have detrimental effects on different levels, including mental health and functioning of an individual or certain, stigmatized groups. Recent work implies that the role of (biologically determined) neurocognitive deficits in the level of functioning in individuals with schizophrenia may have been overemphasized and overestimated. It has been shown that neurocognitive performance is significantly influenced by attitudinal and motivational factors such as dysfunctional beliefs, avolition, and negative emotions. Beck et al. [Albeit the expansion of research in psychiatry and psychology towards focusing more on positive human traits and emotions seems both logical and broadly appreciated, the indication and benefits of related interventions need to be the object of well-controlled investigation. Thus far to our knowledge, there have only been a handful of studies addressing character strengths in psychosis [Given the findings on the role of dysfunctional beliefs in neurocognitive performance and level of functioning in schizophrenia, the potential beneficial effects of directing attention towards positive self-attributes, and the currently limited research on addressing character strengths in psychosis, we conducted this study to contribute to the discussion on whether focusing on character strengths could be an important contribution to alleviate the stereotypical, deficit-oriented view on individuals with schizophrenia and also their view of themselves. In the long run, working with character strengths might then improve symptomatic and functional outcomes. To begin, we took one step back and investigated whether merely measuring psychopathology vs. character strengths may already have an effect on psychological states. In addition, the present study aimed at exploring correlations between character strengths and psychotic symptoms to potentially identify specific symptom domains for which addressing character strengths could be particularly fruitful in treatment. Finally, the general acceptance of focusing on character strengths was investigated.