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Objectives. This study hypothesized that several baseline client characteristics (i.e. age, symptoms, insight, social functioning) would significantly predict client-rated group alliance in out-patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.Design. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to evaluate the contributions of selected baseline individual client characteristics and group level characteristics to client-rated group alliance at the sixth session of group therapy. The effect of treatment type (CBT vs. ST) on group alliance and interaction with predictor variables were also analysed. Finally, correlations were computed to explore the relationship between group alliance, attendance, and treatment engagement.Methods. Sixty-three out-patients who had treatment-resistant auditory hallucinations were randomly assigned to either group CBT, which targeted reduction of distress associated with hallucinations, or group ST, which focused on improving social integration.Results. Results indicate that a stronger group alliance at the mid-point of treatment was associated with overall higher levels of group insight, and lower individual autistic preoccupation and social functioning at the baseline assessment. In addition, stronger group alliance was significantly correlated with higher attendance rates and therapists' ratings of treatment compliance.Conclusions. These findings have implications for determining group composition and identifying clients low in therapeutic engagement. Suggestions for future research on group alliance are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Persons with high levels of paranoid ideation may be more sensitive to emotional stimuli, particularly negative emotions, reflecting the operation of a paranoid schema. However, this finding has not been consistently supported and needs further study. This study examined the effect of paranoia, as measured on a continuum, on emotion perception. It was predicted that higher levels of paranoia would be associated with improved emotion perception scores with better recognition for negative emotions than positive.Design. A four-group ANOVA design was used to compare participants with clinical and sub-clinical paranoia to reflect the continuum view of paranoia.Methods. A group with persecutory delusions (N=30) was compared with three sub-clinical groups (N=88) on two posed emotion perception tasks. The sub-clinical participants were divided into high, moderate, and low groups based on scores from the Paranoia Scale, a widely used measure of sub-clinical paranoia.Results. Persons with persecutory delusions had lower overall emotion perception scores than all of the sub-clinical groups. For negative emotions, persons with persecutory delusions had lower identification scores than the moderate and low sub-clinical groups, but were no different than the high sub-clinical group. Anger was especially problematic for clinical participants. There were no differences for positive emotions.Conclusions. Instead of an enhanced sensitivity for the recognition of emotional states, higher levels of paranoia were linked to a performance deficit on emotion perception tasks. The deficits in emotion perception may reflect the increased skepticism and scrutiny associated with posed emotion tasks (Davis & Gibson, 2000). Research should begin to focus on the underlying mechanisms of emotion perception deficits in paranoia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Previous work has demonstrated that the tendency to make hostile attributions is not a stable trait but varies across different social situations. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether hostile attributions within clinical samples are better understood as a persistent characteristic or one that varies across contexts., Methods: The current analyses investigated patterns of attributions among people diagnosed with schizophrenia (SCZ, n = 271) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 100) and non-clinical control participants (NCC, n = 233) in an existing data set., Results: Results showed that specific relational features in vignettes portraying different social encounters influence the way people make attributions and that variability across contexts is present in both non-clinical and clinical populations. Like non-clinical participants, participants diagnosed with ASD ascribed the greatest hostility to a scene involving an authority figure. In contrast, SCZ participants reported the greatest hostility in response to a scene involving a friend., Conclusions: These findings suggest that salient environmental factors should be considered when assessing social cognitive skills and biases., Practitioner Points: Hostile attributions should be perceived as situational constructs rather than stable and persistent characteristics. Hostile attributions were most prevalent among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia; however, on average, all participants showed greater hostility for situations involving an authority figure, an acquaintance, or a friend relative to those involving a co-worker or stranger. Psychotherapists and clinicians working with people diagnosed with schizophrenia or autism spectrum disorder could work on identifying situation triggers, which may prompt hostile attributions. Psycho-educational and psychotherapeutic interventions can be altered based on individual triggers of hostile attributions, and attempts can be made to lessen these attributions. Paranoia appears to be linked to hostile attributions regardless of the specific clinical diagnosis and should be considered in the therapeutic process., (© 2021 The British Psychological Society.)

Background: Deficits in social cognition are common in people with schizophrenia and are associated with impaired functioning. Finding effective interventions to address these deficits is a priority. Social Cognition Interaction Training (SCIT) is a psychosocial intervention that has demonstrated acceptability and feasibility in various health care settings. Larger, well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed to examine the effectiveness of this intervention., Design: A randomized controlled trial., Methods: One hundred and twenty adults diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder were randomized to receive SCIT (n = 61) or Befriending Therapy (BT) (n = 59). Both intervention groups were delivered weekly for 2 hr over 12 weeks. Neurocognitive assessment was completed at baseline. Participants completed assessments of social cognition, social functioning, and meta-cognition at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up., Results: There were no clinically significant differences between group outcomes on any measure of social cognition or social functioning. There was a trend for both groups to improve over time but not at a level of statistical significance., Conclusions: SCIT did not show any additional benefits on measures of social cognition compared to Befriending Therapy for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. The findings are discussed in terms of potential improvements to the programme., Practitioner Points: Effective interventions for the social cognitive deficits of schizophrenia spectrum disorders are still being refined. Social Cognition Interaction Training is a promising therapy but requires further modifications to improve its effectiveness., (© 2020 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

Objective: Previous research has suggested that paranoia is associated with impaired social functioning in patients with schizophrenia and healthy individuals with high levels of paranoid ideation. This study analysed the relationship between paranoia and interpersonal functioning across the paranoia continuum using network analysis., Method: Levels of paranoid ideation and interpersonal functioning were measured in a non-clinical sample (N = 853) and in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N = 226). Network analyses were used to examine the nature of paranoia's relation to interpersonal functioning in both populations., Results: Although the most central characteristic of paranoia in both samples was the feeling of being talked about behind one's back, across samples, individual characteristics were differentially related to various aspects of interpersonal functioning. Among clinical individuals, difficulties in interpersonal functioning were related to perceived previous experiences of being treated poorly by others, whereas among the non-clinical sample, interpersonal functioning was related to negative beliefs about others., Conclusions: The current results support previous findings linking paranoid ideation to interpersonal functioning in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Patterns of these relationships differed slightly across groups. Results in general support a continuum model of paranoia., Practitioner Points: Network analyses were used to identify central aspects of persecutory ideation in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Qualitative assessment of clinical and non-clinical networks revealed similar central symptoms and supported a continuum model of paranoia. Central aspects of paranoia, that is, feeling that others have talked about oneself behind one's back, being disappointed by others, and having distressing feelings of being watched by others, were associated with deficits in interpersonal functioning in both samples. Central aspects of paranoia may be beneficial targets for psychosocial interventions aimed at reducing paranoid ideation and improving interpersonal functioning. Demographic characteristics for this study differed between samples which may limit generalization of findings. Future research is needed to explore temporal associations and moment-to-moment dynamics between paranoid ideation and problems in interpersonal functioning., (© 2018 The British Psychological Society.)

Objective: The ongoing Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation (SCOPE) study is in the process of forming a gold-standard battery of social cognition tests for use in clinical trials. Previous SCOPE phases have not acknowledged key differences between social cognition skills and biases, and psychometric validity analyses might provide important information if tailored to bias-related outcomes. This study aims to validate these measures with such bias-related outcomes., Methods: Two measures of social cognitive bias - the Ambiguous Intention Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ; hostile attribution bias) and Trustworthiness Task (distrust bias) - were reviewed according to their relationships to (1) current and prospective symptom levels, (2) questionnaires of trait paranoia and hostility and informant-rated hostility, (3) interpersonal conflict, as well as (4) relationships to measures of trait paranoia, hostility, and interpersonal conflict above and beyond the influence of clinically rated symptoms., Results: Results supported hypotheses that social cognitive bias provides information about cognition, symptoms, and functioning related to interpersonal conflict. Each bias demonstrated relationships to trait paranoia questionnaires, hostility, or interpersonal conflict outcomes, and these persisted above and beyond the influence of clinically rated symptoms. Hostile attribution bias also predicted change in symptom levels over a brief interval., Conclusions: Overall, the current bias-specific psychometric analysis provides support for continued study of social cognitive biases., Practitioner Points: Hostile attribution bias may play a role in important outcome variables given relationships to emotional discomfort and suspiciousness symptoms, trait paranoia and hostility, interpersonal conflict, as well as prospective hostility symptoms. Distrust bias may also impact real-world functioning, as it is related to hostility, suspiciousness, and positive symptoms, trait paranoia, and hostility. Relationships of social cognitive biases to interpersonal conflict outcomes exist independently of interview-rated symptoms and persist above and beyond the influence of social cognitive skills, which appear to demonstrate weaker relationships to these outcomes. Understanding and assessing the individual's biases towards distrust or blame might help practioners predict interpersonal conflict and future increases in symptoms., (© 2016 The British Psychological Society.)

Objectives: In schizophrenia, the ability to adaptively infer the thoughts and feelings of others (i.e., social cognition) is strongly associated with community functioning. Researchers have designed psychosocial interventions to improve social cognition with the aim of improving downstream social functioning. Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) is one such intervention. Previous research on SCIT has been promising, but has consisted largely of smaller trials with insufficient experimental control., Design: Randomized, controlled trial., Methods: The current article reports on a controlled trial of 66 adults with schizophrenia randomized to receive either SCIT (n = 33), delivered in weekly group sessions, or treatment as usual (n = 33) for 6 months. Participants completed assessments of social cognition, social functioning, neurocognition and symptoms at baseline, post-treatment, and 3-month follow-up., Results: Primary analyses suggest that SCIT may improve social functioning, negative symptoms, and possibly hostile attributional bias. Post-hoc analyses suggest a dose-response effect., Conclusions: Findings are discussed in the context of continuing to refine and improve social cognitive interventions for schizophrenia., Practitioner Points: Social cognitive intervention is a feasible and promising approach to improving social functioning among individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Dose-response findings suggest that delivering social cognitive interventions with greater frequency may maximize their benefit to patients. Research on social cognitive interventions is still young and effects from well-controlled trials have been inconsistent. It is not yet clear which components of social cognitive training may be the key active ingredients., (© 2014 The British Psychological Society.)

Objective: A number of cognitive biases have been identified relevant to persecutory thought (e.g. exaggerated self-serving bias). Moreover, findings of increased depressed mood in conjunction with high levels of self-esteem have contributed to theories of persecutory ideation (e.g. Bentall, Kinderman, Kaney, 1994). Using a nonclinical sample, the present study sought to expand upon previous research by examining the linear relationship between persecutory ideation and multiple clinical and social cognitive variables., Design: A cross-sectional design was used. Correlational and multiple regression analyses were conducted., Method: One hundred and ninety-three undergraduate students were administered a battery of questionnaires which assessed the following domains: Paranoid ideation, depression, social anxiety, self-monitoring, attributional style and self-esteem., Results: Higher levels of paranoid ideation were significantly associated with greater depressed mood, social anxiety and avoidance, evaluation apprehension, self-monitoring and lower self-esteem. There were no significant associations between paranoid ideation and attributional biases., Conclusions: These findings suggest that mood, anxiety and perceptions of the self are related to paranoid ideation in a nonclinical sample. These findings are tempered, however, by studying a nonclinical sample and the self-report measures of paranoid ideation that might be assessing multiple aspects of paranoid thought (e.g. ideas of reference).