ELECTRODERMAL ACTIVITY AS A PREDICTOR OF SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN FEMALESCHIZOPHRENICS

Twenty-nine female schizophrenics and 20 female controls were presente d with a series of moderately intense tones in a standard orienting ha bituation paradigm while skin conductance was monitored. Premorbid adj ustment and symptoms were also rated, and the schizophrenics were obse rved 2 years later. The total schizophrenic group was divided into a g ood-outcome group and a poor-outcome group. Good social functioning ou tcome required both self-supporting ability in the job market and at l east a minimal social life. The poor-outcome group had a significantly higher skin-conductance level and frequency of spontaneous skin-condu ctance fluctuations than the control group, whereas the few patients w ith good outcome did not differ from controls. These results are contr ary to previous findings with a group of schizophrenic men in which po or social functioning was associated with low electrodermal activity. This discrepancy is discussed in terms of sex differences in schizophr enic disorder.