Social cognition in patients with schizophrenia, their unaffected first degree relatives and healthy controls. Comparison between groups and analysis of associated clinical and sociodemographic variables.

AIM: To evaluate and compare the social cognition in patients with schizophrenia, healthy first-degree relatives and controls, by studying the relationship between social cognition and nonsocial cognition, psychopathology, and other clinical and sociodemographic variables.

METHOD: The total sample was comprised of patients diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia (N = 29), healthy first-degree relatives (N = 21) and controls (N = 28). All groups were assessed with an ad hoc questionnaire and a Social Cognition Scale, which assessed the domains: emotional processing, social perception and attributional style in a Spanish population. The patient group was also assessed with the Scale for the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Mini-mental state examination. Statistical analyses were performed with SPSS version 15.0.

RESULTS

Patients scored significantly worse in all domains of social cognition assessed, compared with controls, and mastery attributional style, compared with relatives. The type of psychopathology correlated negatively and statistically significantly with different domains of social cognition: negative symptoms with emotional processing and attributional style, and positive symptoms with social perception. Basic cognition scores correlated positively and statistically significantly with the domains social perception and attributional style.

CONCLUSION

Social cognition has become an interesting object of study, especially in how it relates to non-social cognition, psychopathology and global functioning of patients, bringing new elements to be considered in the early detection, comprehensive treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation of patients. Its conceptualization as trait variable, the consideration of the existence of a continuum between patients and relatives are plausible hypotheses that require further research.