Social cognition in schizophrenia: Relationships with neurocognition and negative symptoms

• Published in: Schizophrenia research Vol. 90; no. 1; pp. 316 - 324
• Main Authors: Sergi, Mark J, Rassovsky, Yuri, Widmark, Clifford, Reist, Christopher, Erhart, Stephen, Braff, David L, Marder, Stephen R, Green, Michael F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.02.2007; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Awareness; Biological and medical sciences; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - psychology; Emotion perception; Emotions; Female; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Negative symptoms; Neurocognition; Neuropsychological Tests; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Personal Construct Theory; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychoses; Psychotic Disorders - diagnosis; Psychotic Disorders - psychology; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenic Psychology; Social Behavior; Social cognition; Social Perception; Statistics as Topic; Schizophrenia; Negative symptoms; Social perception; Neurocognition; Emotion perception; Social cognition; Psychosis; Human; Affect affectivity; Negative symptom; Emotion emotionality
• ISSN: 0920-9964; 1573-2509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2006.09.028

Abstract Despite the growing importance of social cognition in schizophrenia, fundamental issues concerning the nature of social cognition in schizophrenia remain unanswered. One issue concerns the strength of the relationships between social cognition and key features of the disorder such as neurocognitive deficits and negative symptoms. The current study employed structural equation modeling to examine three key questions regarding the nature of social cognition in schizophrenia: 1) Are social cognition and neurocognition in schizophrenia better modeled as one or two separate constructs? 2) Are social cognition and negative symptoms in schizophrenia better modeled as one or two separate constructs?, and 3) When social cognition, neurocognition, and negative symptoms are included in a single model, is social cognition more closely related to neurocognition or to negative symptoms? In this cross sectional study, one hundred outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were administered measures of social cognition, neurocognition, and negative symptoms. A two-factor model that represented social cognition and neurocognition as separate constructs fit the data significantly better than a one-factor model, suggesting that social cognition and neurocognition are distinct, yet highly related, constructs. Likewise, a two-factor model that represented social cognition and negative symptoms as separate constructs fit the data significantly better than a one-factor model, suggesting that social cognition and negative symptoms are distinct constructs. A three-factor model revealed that the relationship between social cognition and neurocognition was stronger than the relationship between social cognition and negative symptoms. The current findings start to provide insights into the structure of social cognition, neurocognition, and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.