title: Emotional awareness and delusions in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Emotion plays a significant role in schizophrenia. Emotional awareness (i.e., attention to and clarity of emotions) is associated with a wide range of outcomes. Given that individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder differ in the significance of their mood symptoms, the present research examined whether the association between emotional awareness and delusions differs for these two groups of patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Emotional awareness (i.e., attention to and clarity of emotions) was measured with self-report in a sample of 44 individuals diagnosed with either schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Clinical ratings of delusions were made using the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the sample as a whole, individuals with higher levels of attention to emotion tended to have more severe delusions. In addition, diagnostic group significantly moderated the relation between emotional clarity and delusions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conclusions regarding causality cannot be drawn due to the cross-sectional design. Replication is particularly important given the small sample sizes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present research indicates that emotional awareness is associated with delusions. The results raise the possibility that the emotional factors that contribute to delusional beliefs among individuals with schizophrenia differ in at least some ways from the emotional factors that contribute to delusional beliefs among individuals with schizoaffective disorder.
authors.affiliation: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'Antonio
authors.affiliation: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.affiliation: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McKelvey
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA. Electronic address: hberenba@illinois.edu.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Berenbaum
authors.affiliation: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, USA; New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Serper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001364:Awareness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003702:Delusions / Q000523:psychology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D055815:Young Adult