title: Social cognition and symptom dimensions.
abstract: This study used the Picture Arrangement subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale to assess social cognitive functioning of psychotic patients diagnosed with bipolar, schizophrenia, or schizoaffective disorder. All participants were rated on positive and negative symptom rating scales, from which three symptom dimensions were obtained. Symptom dimensions were not significantly related to ratings of symptom severity or mental status examination scores. Disorganized symptoms were correlated with a wide range of impairments on nearly all subscale measures of social cognition. Negative symptoms were correlated with lower ratings of capacity for emotional investment, complexity of representations, and integration of episodes. Psychoticism was associated with negative affect tone. Diagnostic categories were not related to social cognitive impairments independent of estimates of premorbid level of cognitive function. Evidence of syndromal differences suggests that heterogeneity of variance in studies of functioning of schizophrenic patients can be reduced by inclusion of symptom dimensions.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187-8795, USA.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shean
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012938:Social Perception; D014888:Wechsler Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*