Introduction: A study to assess effect of schizophrenia on socio-cognitive ability.
Schizophrenia is a disorder of the 'social brain'.(1)
Social cognition can be defined as "the mental operations underlying social
interactions, which includes the human ability to perceive the intentions and
dispositions of others and the cognitive processes that sub serve behavior in response
to others".
Severe and persistent social disability is a key characteristic of schizophrenia that often
plagues the lives of many individuals with the disorder.(2)
Aim of study: The aim is to assess the social functions of schizophrenic inpatients in
the Maamoura mental hospital and to compare it with healthy matching controls.
Moreover, a correlation between schizophrenia symptom profile and social cognitive
functions was investigated.
Subjects and methods: This is a case control study where 55 schizophrenic inpatients
were randomly selected and compared with 55socially and physically matching
controls for using scales to test social cognition (social skills inventory (SSI), emotional
intelligence scale (EI), theory of mind (ToM)) and the positive and negative scale for
schizophrenia (PANSS).
Results: On reviewing results, it was found that there was a negative significant
correlation between the total and subtotal values of PANSS with the total values and
most of the subtotal values of SSI, EI and ToM. Patients with chronic schizophrenia
showed significant impairment in socio-cognitive ability in comparison to normal
individuals.
Conclusion: The control group showed better social cognitive function than the
schizophrenic inpatients. In addition, social cognition showed a negative correlation
with the degree of severity of schizophrenia.
Recommendations: Social cognitive assessment should be put as a cornerstone assessment in schizophrenia and should be included in the management plans.
Key words: schizophrenia, social cognition, social skills, emotional intelligence, theory
of mind.