F. Dickerson et al., Social functioning and neurocognitive deficits in outpatients with schizophrenia: a 2-year follow-up, SCHIZOPHR R, 37(1), 1999, pp. 13-20
Neurocognitive deficits have been associated with the social functioning im
pairments of patients with schizophrenia. More information is needed about
how cognitive status and other variables predict social functioning over de
fined periods of time. In this study, 72 relatively stable outpatients with
schizophrenia were compared between baseline and a 2-year follow-up on mea
sures of social functioning. Patients were also assessed with a battery of
neurocognitive tests and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Results
were compared by univariate and multivariate analyses. A total of four out
of seven subscales of the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) and the total SFS
score did not show a significant change over the 2-year period. On the thre
e SFS subscales that did show a significant change, residual change scores
were correlated with better neurocognitive performance at baseline, younger
age, and shorter illness duration. For the Multnomah Community Ability Sca
le, 48.9% of the total score at follow-up was predicted by initial negative
symptoms and scores on the Aphasia Screenings Test. These results document
the independent contribution of demographic variables, negative symptoms,
and neurocognitive deficits to the social functioning impairments of indivi
duals with schizophrenia. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve
d.