Erotomania in Schneider-positive Schizophrenia

Abstract

Summary: A case of erotomania (de Clérambault's syndrome) in a female with Schneider-positive schizophrenia is presented. The factors in her environment which may have precipitated the illness are discussed. The secondary nature of the syndrome is further illustrated by a discussion of the literature. In erotomania, the deluded victim, usually a woman, believes that a man, unattainable because of his social status, is in love with her. The nosological purity of the syndrome, despite its relative rarity, remains a subject of considerable debate. We present a case of erotomania in a female with schneiderian first rank symptoms (FRS) of schizophrenia (Schneider, 1959).