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Introduction. Early intervention during childhood in patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been strongly advocated. As adolescence is reached, new, more complex social demands emerge. These demands require a therapeutic approach that has not been widely studied. The aim of this review is to examine and synthesize the existing literature on social cognition interventions in adolescence and lay the groundwork for future interventions. Methods. Searches were conducted in the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases up until April 20, 2023. Quantitative or qualitative research aimed at examining the influence of social cognition-focused interventions in the treatment of ASD in adolescence, in either English or Spanish language, was included. Quantitative and qualitative studies were evaluated using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Critical Appraisals Skills Programme checklist, respectively. Results. Nineteen original studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected. The selected studies included a total of 916 patients. The average duration of the interventions was 13.28 weeks. They were categorized into group-based social skills interventions, experience-based interventions, and computer-mediated interventions. Conclusions. The scarcity of social cognition interventions specifically designed for adolescents with ASD is striking. The neuroplasticity window between puberty and the transition to adulthood provides an opportunity for structural and dynamic functional reorganization. Therefore, adolescence is a unique developmental stage that is amenable to specific interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction People with schizophrenia have deficits in the ability to identify emotions. An area of important dysfunction is the understanding of affective prosody, which can limit communication and social functionality. The objective of this study is to compare emotional recognition through prosody between a group of people with schizophrenia versus a control group without pathology, through the Reading the Mind in the Voice - Spanish Version scale (RMV-SV). Method A group of people with clinically stable schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder was recruited (n = 62). They were compared with a control group (n = 63) in sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, intelligence quotient, and performance on RMV-SV scale. Results The case group presented lower scores on the RMV-SV, with statistically significant differences (p < .001) compared to controls. In 17/22 items of wrong answers, the statements contained negative emotions. The correlation was positive between RMV-SV and IQ. RMV-SV and PANSS, mainly the negative subscale, and age were inversely correlated. Conclusions The RMV-SV scale, validated in autism, allows detecting the alterations of prosodic recognition in Spanish in schizophrenia, postulating itself as an evaluating tool of this domain of social cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Social Cognition (SC) impairment is part of the deficit syndrome of schizophrenia. The Observable Social Cognition: A Rating Scale (OSCARS) evaluates the perceived SC through an external reference informant. The aim of this paper is to analyze the psychometric properties of validity and reliability of its cross-cultural adaptation for the Spanish population. Methods. Observational and cross-sectional study in a sample of outpatients with schizophrenia (n = 109), selected by simple randomized sampling. Selected instruments: Hinting task, MATRICS cognitive consensus battery, clinical global impression scale (CGI-SCH) and specific data collection logbook. Results. Exploratory Factor Analysis identified a two-factor model, like the original version, that explains 59.02% of the total variance: social cognitive bias and social cognitive ability. As in the original version, no correlation results were found with other SC measures: Hinting task (r: - 0.085; p value = 0.382) or MSCEIT of the MATRICS (r: 0.015; p value 0.877). No specific correlations were observed with other neurocognitive domains. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.82 (0.75 and 0.76, for each factor). The mean weighted kappa value was 0.43. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient score, 0.84 (95% CI: 0.76 - 0.88; p <0.001) Conclusions. These findings support the validity and the reliability of the cross-cultural adaptation of the OSCARS a tool to assess SC by a referent informant in individuals with schizophrenia with similar psychometric properties to the original version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Social cognition is progressively acquired from childhood to early adulthood. Nevertheless there is a shortage of social cognition scales with normative data for Spanish children and adolescents. Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice (SAT-MC) and its alternate version SAT-MC-II are social cognition instruments that measure mentalization skills in adults with psychosis. This study aimed to report psychometric characteristics and normative data of the Spanish version of SAT-MC and SAT-MC-II in a sample of minors. Methods. The sample included 511 children and adolescents, from 8 to 15 years old, that volunteered to participate in the study. SAT-MC and SAT-MC-II were translated into Spanish versions, resulting in Tarea de Atribución Social-Elección Múltiple I and II (TAS-EM-I and TAS-EM-II). Participants completed both scales in two different sessions in a two-week longitudinal study. The order of scales was counterbalanced across visits. Results. The internal consistency obtained was acceptable for TAS-EM (Cronbach's alpha=0.75) and good for TASEM- II (Cronbach's alpha= 0.80). Test-retest reliability showed a moderate correlation (r = 0.49; p< .001). Age positively correlated with TAS-EM-I (r = 0.40; p< .001) and TAS-EMII (r = 0.54; p< .001). Percentiles are reported for each age group from 8 to 15 years old. Discussion. The current normative data allow the study of social cognition development in Spanish children and adolescents. In accordance with previous literature, our results showed that social cognition performance improved from childhood to adolescence. Moreover, psychometric properties of SAT-MC resulted similar to the previous studies published in adults with schizophrenia and undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Impairments in Social Cognition (SC) in First Episode Psychosis (FEP) were reported exclusively using neurocognitive tests. Aim of this study is (1) to assess subjective experience of SC in FEP adolescent and young adults compared to non-FEP help-seeking peers, (2) to investigate any significant association of SC with psychopathology and functioning in FEP individuals; and (3) to monitor longitudinally the stability of SC after a 2-year follow-up period. Methods: Participants (141 FEP and 98 non-FEP), aged 13-35 years, completed the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) and the GEOPTE scale of SC for psychosis. Within the FEP group, a multiple linear regression analysis (with GEOPTE total scores as independent variables and CAARMS dimension subscores as dependent variables) was also performed. Results: In comparison with non-FEP, FEP patients showed significantly higher GEOPTE SC scores. After both 12 and 24 months of follow-up, FEP subjects had a significant decrease in severity on GEOPTE SC subscore. In the FEP group, GEOPTE total scores showed significant positive correlations with negative symptoms and general psychopathology. Regression analysis results showed a significant contribution of subjective SC in predicting depression. Conclusions - SC deficits are prominent in FEP patients, where at baseline seems to be associated with negative symptoms and to predict clinical depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Impairments in Social Cognition (SC) in First Episode Psychosis (FEP) were reported exclusively using neurocognitive tests. Aim of this study is (1) to assess subjective experience of SC in FEP adolescent and young adults compared to non-FEP help-seeking peers, (2) to investigate any significant association of SC with psychopathology and functioning in FEP individuals; and (3) to monitor longitudinally the stability of SC after a 2-year follow-up period. Methods: Participants (141 FEP and 98 non-FEP), aged 13-35 years, completed the Comprehensive Assessment of AtRisk Mental States (CAARMS) and the GEOPTE scale of SC for psychosis. Within the FEP group, a multiple linear regression analysis (with GEOPTE total scores as independent variables and CAARMS dimension subscores as dependent variables) was also performed. Results: In comparison with non-FEP, FEP patients showed significantly higher GEOPTE SC scores. After both 12 and 24 months of follow-up, FEP subjects had a significant decrease in severity on GEOPTE SC subscore. In the FEP group, GEOPTE total scores showed significant positive correlations with negative symptoms and general psychopathology. Regression analysis results showed a significant contribution of subjective SC in predicting depression. Conclusions – SC deficits are prominent in FEP patients, where at baseline seems to be associated with negative symptoms and to predict clinical depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Mentalization-based therapy (MBT), a manualized psychodynamically and developmentally oriented psychotherapy, has been proven effective in controlled studies in non-psychotic patients with severe mental disorders. Although MBT is currently being used to treat schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), to date no prospective studies have evaluated outcomes and treatment-related adverse effects. Brief mentalization-based group psychotherapy (B-MBGT) is a 12-week program based on the explicit mentalizing techniques of MBT. The study was conducted at a day hospital (DH) and the main objective was to examine the feasibility of B-MBGT to treat patients with SSD. Method. Open study to assess the safety of B-MBGT in 72 patients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, or unspecified psychotic disorder. All patients underwent both B-MBGT and Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT). Consequently, a secondary aim was to compare these two therapies in terms of acceptance and subjective efficacy. Results. Adverse reactions were scarce and the most common of the reported ones, discomfort during the group treatment session, was considered mild in most cases. Compared to IPT, B-MBGT yielded significant higher scores on four subjective efficacy parameters. Conclusion. B-MBGT in DH is both feasible and safe in SSD patients and most patients in this study considered B-MBGT to be beneficial. Controlled studies are needed to determine the effectiveness of B-MBGT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Schizophrenia patients show impairments in social cognition (SC), which is a set of cognitive processes that underlie social interactions. The research about SC in schizophrenia has identified four main domains: Theory of mind (ToM), social perception, attributional style and emotional processing. The present review aims to summarize the most recent and consistent findings about SC in patients with schizophrenia, unaffected relatives and ultra-high risk for psychosis individuals (UHR), as well as its association with clinical variables and functional outcome. Methods. A systematic PsycINFO and Pubmed/Medline databases search was conducted. Results. ToM impairments have been observed in schizophrenia patients, unaffected relatives and UHR. Emotional processing disturbance has been consistently reported in schizophrenia patients and UHR. ToM and emotional processing have been correlated with symptomatology and functional outcome. However, inconsistencies have been found across studies that assess ToM and emotional processing as predictors of psychosis. Social perception and attributional style are affected in schizophrenia, but the research in at- risk populations is scarce and their relationship with symptoms or functional outcome is not clear. Conclusions. All domains of SC are impaired in schizophrenia. Non affected relatives and UHR also display deficits of SC. More research must be conducted to assess the reliability of SC domains as endophenotypes or predictors of conversion to psychosis in at-risk populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most of the research conducted up to now has shown that interventions in social cognition are effective in the rehabilitation of persons with schizophrenia, there are still no clinical practice recommendations on the topic. Their development could facilitate the clinical work, resource management and the care provided to persons with such a disorder. This article addresses this need and performs a systematic review of the identified high-quality scientific evidence and develops clinical practice recommendations. A total of 40 clinical trials and 1 meta-analysis evaluating the effects of social cognition interventions for persons with schizophrenia were selected for the present study. Taking into account the evidence available and its quality, the authors developed three clinical practice recommendations on the positive effects of these interventions. The analysis of the evidence of the quality of the studies shows that more randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and longer follow-ups are needed in order to establish more accurately the efficacy and effectiveness of social cognition interventions and therefore to favor the generalization of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]