title: Differences in social functioning among patients with major psychiatric disorders: Interpersonal communication is impaired in patients with schizophrenia and correlates with an increase in schizotypal traits.
abstract: Impaired social functioning is a hallmark of major psychiatric disorders. The purpose of this study was to detect a disorder-specific factor of social dysfunction among patients with major psychiatric disorders (PSY), including schizophrenia (SCZ), bipolar disorder (BIP) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Social functioning was assessed in patients with SCZ (n=80), BIP (n=27) or MDD (n=29) and healthy controls (HC, n=68) using the Social Functioning Scale (SFS). Compared to HC, the SCZ, BIP and MDD patient groups showed lower total SFS scores. No differences in the total scores for social functioning were observed between patient groups. We next investigated seven subscales of the SFS among PSY and observed significant diagnostic effects on all subscales of the SFS. Notably, patients with SCZ have poorer interpersonal communication than patients with MDD. Furthermore, the poorer interpersonal communication score was significantly correlated with an increase in schizotypal personality traits, as assessed by the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) in HC. Although there were no differences in overall social functioning among PSY, disorder-specific factors, such as interpersonal communication, were evident in SCZ. The correlation between poor interpersonal communication and the increase in schizotypal traits suggests that poor interpersonal communication may be an intermediate phenotype of SCZ.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yasuyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan. Electronic address: ohi@kanazawa-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takamitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uehara
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003142:Communication; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Bipolar; Depression; Interpersonal communication; Schizophrenia; Schizotypal personality trait; Social functioning