title: The relationship between insight and social skill in persons with severe mental illness.
abstract: The relationship of insight with the social behaviors of outpatients with severe mental illness (SMI) was investigated. Participants' engaged in two social interactions (i.e., stigmatizing and nonstigmatizing), each with a different research confederate. The participant's behavior was later coded for the presence of various self-presentation and social skill variables. Results indicated that greater insight was associated with better overall social skill, less observed strangeness, and greater self-disclosure of one's mental illness. Furthermore, the three measures of insight, one based on self-report and two interview-based, were all highly intercorrelated, suggesting that they are measuring a similar construct. Finally, consistent with previous research in the area, greater insight was associated with less severe psychiatric symptoms. Implications of these findings for future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge 70803-5501, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Penn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012919:Social Behavior