New instrument for measuring multiple domains of social cognition: Construct validity of the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (Japanese version)

• Published in: Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences Vol. 68; no. 9; pp. 701 - 711
• Main Authors: Kanie, Ayako, Hagiya, Kumiko, Ashida, Sayaka, Pu, Shenghong, Kaneko, Koichi, Mogami, Tamiko, Oshima, Sachie, Motoya, Maki, Niwa, Shin‐ichi, Inagaki, Akiko, Ikebuchi, Emi, Kikuchi, Akiko, Yamasaki, Syudo, Iwata, Kazuhiko, Roberts, David L, Nakagome, Kazuyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - psychology; attributional bias; Case-Control Studies; Cognition & reasoning; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - psychology; Female; Humans; Japan; Male; metacognition; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Sample Size; schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizophrenic Psychology; Social Behavior; social cognition; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; theory of mind; Validation studies; Women; Young Adult; Japan; attributional bias; schizophrenia; social cognition; theory of mind; metacognition
• ISSN: 1323-1316; 1440-1819
• DOI: 10.1111/pcn.12181

Aim The present study aimed to test the construct validity and internal consistency of the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (SCSQ) (Japanese version). Methods We first tested whether the subscale scores and the total score of the SCSQ could discriminate patients with schizophrenia from normal controls. Next, we tested the internal consistency. Finally, we investigated the relation between the subscale scores and other measures of social cognition and social functioning that were presumed to correspond to the subscale's scores, including the Hinting Task, the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ), the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale and the Social Functioning Scale. Results The subscale scores and the total score appeared to show more robust between‐group differences than other measures of social cognition, such as the AIHQ and the Hinting Task. The total score distinguished the patients from normal controls with an area under the receiver–operator curve of 0.84, which indicated a high level of discrimination. The Cronbach's alpha for the four subscales was 0.72, which was considered acceptable. In terms of criterion‐related validity, theory of mind, metacognition and hostility bias subscale scores showed significant correlations with the Hinting Task, Beck Cognitive Insight Scale and AIHQ, respectively. Moreover, the theory of mind subscale score showed a significant correlation with four domain scores of the Social Functioning Scale. The present results indicated good construct validity and internal consistency of the SCSQ. Conclusions Although this is an interim report with a small sample size, the SCSQ holds promise as an efficient measure for social cognition.