title: Emotional Intelligence deficits in schizophrenia: The impact of non-social cognition.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) revealed significant performance deficits across all areas of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls. However, none of these studies has investigated a potential influence of non-social cognition on these findings.
  
  
  METHODS
  56 schizophrenia outpatients and 84 control subjects were investigated using the MSCEIT and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Analyses of covariance were performed with adjustment for the BACS composite score and education. To investigate this issue in more detail, a mediation analysis was conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients showed significantly lower EI and non-social cognition levels compared to healthy controls. After adjustment for BACS composite score and education, only the group difference in the "managing emotions" branch and thus in the "strategic" EI part of the MSCEIT remained statistically significant, whereas for all other MSCEIT branches (perceiving, using, understanding emotions) statistical significance was lost. The mediation analysis revealed that the difference between schizophrenia patients and controls regarding the MSCEIT total score was almost fully attributable to the mediating effect of non-social cognition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that in schizophrenia patients EI is largely influenced by non-social cognitive functioning. Only the "managing emotions" branch was found to be independent of non-social cognition. Consequently, non-social cognitive performance was mainly responsible for the observed differences in EI between schizophrenia patients and controls. This has to be taken into account when interpreting MSCEIT data in this population.
authors.affiliation: Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: beatrice.frajo-apor@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frajo-Apor
authors.affiliation: Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: silvia.pardeller@tirol-kliniken.at.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pardeller
authors.affiliation: Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: georg.kemmler@tiroler-kliniken.at.
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kemmler
authors.affiliation: Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: anna.welte@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Anna-Sophia
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Welte
authors.affiliation: Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Electronic address: a.hofer@i-med.ac.at.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
keywords: Emotional Intelligence; MSCEIT; Mediation analysis; Non-social cognition; Schizophrenia