Reliability and validity of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were studied in a population of 68
patients diagnosed with schisophrenia in accordance with (ICD-10) criteria. Interrater reliability was good: 0.61, positive
scale; 0.54, negative scale; 0.52 general psychopathology; 0.55, total scale. Internal consistency was good for total scale
(0.79), positive scale (0.67), and for negative scale (0.72). Internal consistency was weaker for general psychopathology
scale: (0.58). We isolated a 5- factor structure (negative, excitative, positive, depresseve and cognitive), explaining 57.2%
of the total variance. The internal consistency of the 5 factors isolated was good (0.79, negative factor; 0.76, excitation
factor; 0.75, positive factor; 0.73, depressive factor; and 0.65, cognitive).