RATINGS OF SOCIAL FUNCTIONING IN OUTPATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA - PATIENT SELF-REPORT VERSUS CAREGIVER ASSESSMENT

Patients with schizophrenia often have deficits in day-to-day function ing that are central to their disability. The ability of patients to r ate their own social functioning, however, has nor been established. I n this study we examined the concordance between the ratings oil the S ocial Functioning Scale of 58 outpatients with schizophrenia and their caregivers. We found a high level of overall concordance between the self and informant ratings. Items measuring the frequency of behaviors were among those with the highest concordance, while ratings of abili ty oi social skill showed lower correlations. On only nine of 73 items did patients rate themselves significantly higher than did caregivers . There was no difference in concordance between family and nonfamily caregivers. These findings indicate that outpatients with schizophreni a can provide self-report ratings that are consistent with the ratings of their caregivers. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.