Social cognition and work performance of persons with schizophrenia in a Chinese population.
BACKGROUND
Social-cognitive deficits have a significant impact on the community and vocational functioning of persons with schizophrenia.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to explore the relationship between social-cognitive abilities and vocational functioning in a Chinese population.


METHODS
We recruited 30 outpatients with schizophrenia to participate. We administered the Chinese Social Cognition and Screening Questionnaire (C-SCSQ) to assess Theory of Mind (ToM), attributional bias, and neurocognition; the Facial Expression Identification Test (FEIT) to assess emotion perception (EP) ability, and the Chinese Work Personality Profile (CWPP) to assess work performance in a simulated work setting.


RESULTS
ToM showed a significant negative correlation with attributional bias. The neurocognitive measure displayed a significant positive correlation with ToM and EP. The structural equation model was a good fit to the data (CFI=0.91, RMSEA=0.12), and showed that social-cognitive abilities had a significant impact (-0.41) on work performance. Of the four social-cognitive domains, ToM and paranoid attributional style (PAS) contributed significantly to variations in work performance. These results support the theory that social-cognitive abilities have an impact on work performance. ToM has a positive impact whereas PAS has an adverse effect.


CONCLUSIONS
Persons with schizophrenia present specific deficits in their social-cognitive abilities, which have significant impact on their work performance and employability.
Castle Peak Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong, China.
Panmi
P
Lo
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
Andrew M H
AM
Siu
D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D056345:Theory of Mind; D000066477:Work Performance
Emotion perception; attributional style; theory-of-mind; vocational