ABSTRACT
The development of a multimethod social problem-solving battery for schizophrenia is described. The battery is unique in that empirical methods were used throughout its development. The battery includes components that tap skills for response generation and response evaluation. The behavioral components of social problem solving are assessed in an extended role-play format. Individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, as well as nonpatient controls, completed the social problem-solving battery and cognitive measures. Subjects in the schizophrenia group performed more poorly than controls on measures of the ability to generate and evaluate response alternatives, as well as on the role-play test. The two patient groups did not differ in performance on any of the social problem-solving components. Appropriateness of affect was the most powerful predictor of problem-solving effectiveness.
Subject(s)
Bipolar Disorder/complications , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/etiology , Problem Solving , Schizophrenia/complications , Adult , Bipolar Disorder/diagnosis , Female , Humans , Male , Observer Variation , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Reproducibility of Results , Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Schizophrenic PsychologyABSTRACT
Videotaped family problem-solving interactions of 57 schizophrenic or schizoaffective patients and their relatives were examined for predictors of negativity of their communication behavior. Ratings of patients' behaviors and independent assessments of patients' symptomatology were used to predict the negativity of relatives in the videotaped interaction. The results indicated that severity of symptomatology was not related to relatives' negativity. Patients' social skill, as independently assessed by a role-play test, also was not associated with relatives' negativity. The regression results suggest that with both members of a patient-relative dyad, the quality of communication in a discussion is related to the other participant's level of negativity.
Subject(s)
Family/psychology , Negativism , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Schizophrenia/rehabilitation , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adolescent , Adult , Communication , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Readmission , Personality Assessment , Problem Solving , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Psychotic Disorders/rehabilitation , Role PlayingABSTRACT
The social skills and social perception of schizophrenia patients in response to negative affect was examined as a function of family expressed emotion (EE). Patients participated in a role-play test, a social perception test, and a problem-solving discussion with a family member and were assessed on several measures of symptomatology. EE of family members was evaluated with the Camberwell Family Interview. On the role-play test, patients with less critical relatives became more assertive in response to increased negative affect from a confederate portraying either a family member or friend, but patients with highly critical relatives did not. Patients with highly critical relatives were also less assertive when confronted with negative affect from a confederate portraying a family member rather than a friend. The behaviors of both relatives and patients during a family problem-solving interaction were related to the EE dimensions of criticism, emotional overinvolvement, and warmth. Patient gender was also related to family problem solving but was independent of EE. Patient ratings of affect on a videotaped social perception task were not related to family EE, and there were few differences in psychopathology between patients with high and low EE relatives. The results support the validity of the EE construct as an index of relatives' affective behavior and suggest that patients' social skills, such as assertiveness, may mediate negative affective exchanges in their families.
Subject(s)
Emotions , Family/psychology , Hostility , Schizophrenia/rehabilitation , Schizophrenic Psychology , Social Behavior , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Psychotic Disorders/rehabilitation , Role Playing , Social PerceptionABSTRACT
Both psychiatric patients and their relatives benefit from learning about mental illness and how to cope with it, but the specific interests of these consumers remain unclear. To determine specific educational needs and to compare the needs of different consumers, a questionnaire survey was conducted with a sample of patients with schizophrenia and affective disorder and their relatives. Both patients and relatives reported strong interest in learning more about psychiatric illness and strategies for coping with common problems, but patients with schizophrenia were less interested than patients with affective disorder and both sets of relatives. Discriminant analyses revealed that needs differed as a function of patient diagnosis, patient/relative status, and relatives' membership of a self-help and advocacy organisation. Consumers of mental health services are capable of specifying their own educational needs, and educational programmes should be tailored to meet these.
Subject(s)
Affective Disorders, Psychotic/rehabilitation , Family Therapy/methods , Family/psychology , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Psychotic Disorders/rehabilitation , Schizophrenia/rehabilitation , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Affective Disorders, Psychotic/psychology , Health Services Needs and Demand , Hostility , Humans , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Self-Help Groups , Social Environment , Social SupportABSTRACT
Memory and symptomatology were examined as predictors of social skill acquisition in psychiatric inpatients participating in a social skills training program. Poor memory was related to pretreatment social skill impairments and slower rates of skill improvement during the intervention for patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, but not affective disorder. Symptomatology was not consistently related to pretreatment social skill or changes in skill for either schizophrenic or affective disorder patients. The results suggest that cognitive deficits in schizophrenia are associated with impairments in social skill and that such deficits may limit the rate of skill acquisition and clinical response to social skills training interventions.
Subject(s)
Affective Disorders, Psychotic/rehabilitation , Behavior Therapy , Mental Recall , Psychotic Disorders/rehabilitation , Schizophrenia/rehabilitation , Schizophrenic Psychology , Social Behavior Disorders/rehabilitation , Adult , Affective Disorders, Psychotic/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Hospitalization , Humans , Interpersonal Relations , Male , Psychotic Disorders/psychology , Social Behavior Disorders/psychology , Verbal Behavior , Wechsler ScalesABSTRACT
The relationship between gender and social skill measured by performance on a role play test was examined in a sample of 57 schizophrenics, 33 affective disorder patients, and 20 nonpatient controls. Female schizophrenics were more skilled than male schizophrenics, but no gender differences were present in the affective patients or the controls. Longitudinal analyses conducted on the schizophrenic group indicated that the superior social skill of women was stable over the year following a symptom exacerbation. Symptoms and social adjustment improved for both men and women over the year, but did not differ according to gender. The implications of the results for gender differences in the long-term outcome of schizophrenia are discussed.
Subject(s)
Gender Identity , Identification, Psychological , Schizophrenia/diagnosis , Schizophrenic Psychology , Social Adjustment , Adolescent , Adult , Bipolar Disorder/psychology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
Data on the hypnotizability of 113 psychiatric inpatients and 58 normal control subjects were compared. The patients' mean score on the Hypnotic Induction Profile was significantly lower than that of the control subjects, but on the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C, these patients and control subjects did not differ significantly. On both scales rank-ordered scores of different diagnostic groups of the patients supported the theory that hypnotizability varies according to type of psychopathology. Some results, such as the hypnotizability of the schizophrenic patients, depended on which scale was used. This finding may explain the conflicting literature on the hypnotic potential of schizophrenic patients.
