title: The role of dysfunctional attitudes in models of negative symptoms and functioning in schizophrenia.
abstract: Neurocognitive impairment is associated with negative symptoms and poor real world functioning in schizophrenia. Dysfunctional attitudes (e.g., "If I fail partly, it is as bad as being a complete failure") have been found to mediate these relationships between neurocognition and negative symptoms and functioning. In this study, these relationships were examined in 179 participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder using structural equation modeling. Defeatist attitudes were found to mediate the relationship between neurocognition and negative symptoms but not the relationships between neurocognition and performance-based or self-reported functioning. A full model with the best fit showed mediation between neurocognition and self-reported functioning through two different pathways: One from neurocognition to functional skill capacity to real-world functioning, and a second from neurocognition to defeatist attitudes to negative symptoms to real-world functioning. These results may implicate skill deficits and defeatist attitudes as a separate treatment targets for negative symptoms and functioning in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, United States.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Quinlan
authors.affiliation: San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, United States.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roesch
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, United States. Electronic address: egranholm@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Granholm
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D057566:Self Report
keywords: Cognitive model; Defeatist attitudes; Functioning; Negative symptoms; Schizophrenia