title: Relationship between insight and theory of mind in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis.
abstract: Poor insight in schizophrenia has been associated with executive dysfunction and deficits in general cognitive ability. The overall outcome of available neurocognitive studies suggests that there is a significant but modest relationship between cognitive deficits and poor insight in schizophrenia. However, social cognitive abilities, particularly, theory of mind (ToM), might also play a role in poor insight in schizophrenia. A novel meta-analysis of the relationship between ToM and insight in schizophrenia was conducted. Current meta-analysis included 16 studies including 1085 patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. There was a significant association between ToM and clinical insight (r=0.28, CI=0.20-0.36). By contrast, there was no significant relationship between ToM and cognitive insight. Current findings suggest that there is a small but significant relationship between ToM and clinical insight in schizophrenia. ToM impairment is one of the factors contributing to poor insight in schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Izmir, Turkey; Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Carlton South, Victoria 3053, Australia. Electronic address: emre.bora@deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bora
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D056344:Executive Function; D006801:Humans; D010465:Perception; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D056345:Theory of Mind
keywords: Insight; Schizophrenia; Theory of mind