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Objective: Poor insight is a major problem in psychosis, being detrimental for treatment compliance and recovery. Previous studies have identified various correlates of insight impairment, mostly in chronic samples. The current study aimed to determine clinical, neurocognitive, metacognitive, and socio-cognitive predictors of insight in first-episode psychosis.Methods: Regression analyses of different insight dimensions were conducted in 190 patients with first-episode psychosis. Measures of clinical symptoms, neurocognition, metacognition, social cognition, and 'jumping to conclusions' bias were entered as predictors. Results: Delusions, disorganisation, and certain negative symptoms were associated with unawareness in various domains, while depression was associated with greater awareness of illness. Deficit in theory of mind and selfreflective processes, as well as a 'jumping to conclusions' bias, contributed to poor insight. Several neuropsychological scores also contributed to this but their contribution was no longer observed in regression analyses that included all the previously identified clinical and cognitive predictors. A measure of perseverative errors was still associated with unawareness and misattribution of symptoms.Conclusion: In models that account for 28 % to 50 % of the variance, poor insight in first-episode psychosis is mainly associated with delusions and certain negative symptoms. At the cognitive level it does not appear to result from neuropsychological impairment but rather from altered reasoning bias and dysfunction inmetacognitive processes. Therapeutic strategies specifically directed at these mechanisms could help improve the evolution of insight in first episode psychosis.

Metacognitive training (MCT) is a promising treatment for improving cognitive insight associated with delusional beliefs in individuals with psychotic disorders. The aim of this study was to examine potential moderators of cognitive insight in individuals with first-episode psychosis (FEP) who received either MCT or psychoeducation. The present study was based on data from a randomized control trial comparing MCT to psychoeducation. Baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics in a sample of 122 patients with FEP were examined as potential moderators of the self-reflectiveness and self-certainty dimensions of cognitive insight using the SPSS PROCESS macro. The only variable that moderated self-reflectiveness at the post-treatment evaluation was age of onset (b = -0.27, p = .025). The effect of MCT in reducing self-certainty was stronger in women (b = -3.26, p = .018) and in individuals with average or above average baseline self-esteem (b = -0.30, p = .007). Overall, our findings support the generalization of MCT to a variety of sociodemographic and clinical profiles. While some patient profiles may require targeted interventions such as MCT to improve cognitive insight, others may do equally as well with less demanding interventions such as a psychoeducational group.

Deficits in social cognition and metacognition impact the course of psychosis. Gender differences in social cognition and metacognition could explain heterogeneity in psychosis. 174 (58 females) patients with first-episode psychosis completed a clinical, neuropsychological, social cognitive and metacognitive assessment. Subsequent latent profile analysis split by gender yielded 2 clusters common to both genders, a specific male profile characterized by presenting jumping to conclusions and a specific female profile characterized by cognitive biases. Males and females in the homogeneous profile seem to have a more benign course of illness. Males with jumping to conclusions had more clinical symptoms and more neuropsychological deficits. Females with cognitive biases were younger and had less self-esteem. These results suggest that males and females may benefit from specific targeted treatment and highlights the need to consider gender when planning interventions.

The aims are to assess improvements in memory, attention and executive function in first-episode psychosis after Metacognitive Training (MCT). A multicenter randomized clinical trial was performed with two arms: MCT and psychoeducational intervention. A total of 126 patients with a diagnosis of psychosis, less than 5 years from the onset of the disease, were included. Patients were assessed two or three moments (baseline, post-treatment, 6 months follow-up) depending on the test, with a battery of neurocognitive tests (TAVEC, TMTA-B, CPT, WCST, Stroop and premorbid IQ). General linear models for repeated measures were performed. A better improvement in the MCT was found by an interaction between group and time in CPT Hit index, TMTB, Stroop, recent memory and number of perseverations of the TAVEC. Considering three assessments, a better improvement was found in non-perseverative, perseverative and total errors of the WCST and TMTB. The MCT is an effective psychological intervention to improve several cognitive functions.

Background: Metacognitive training (MCT) has demonstrated its efficacy in psychosis. However, the effect of each MCT session has not been studied. The aim of the study was to assess changes in cognitive insight after MCT: (a) between baseline, post-treatment, and follow-up, (b) after each session of the MCT controlled for intellectual quotient (IQ) and educational level. Method: A total of 65 patients with first-episode psychosis were included in the MCT group from nine centers of Spain. Patients were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, and 6 months follow-up, as well as after each session of MCT with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS). The BCIS contains two subscales: self-reflectiveness and self-certainty, and the Composite Index. Statistical analysis was performed using linear mixed models with repeated measures at different time points. Results: Self-certainty decreased significantly (p = 0.03) over time and the effect of IQ was negative and significant (p = 0.02). From session 4 to session 8, all sessions improved cognitive insight by significantly reducing self-certainty and the Composite Index. Conclusions: MCT intervention appears to have beneficial effects on cognitive insight by reducing self-certainty, especially after four sessions. Moreover, a minimum IQ is required to ensure benefits from MCT group intervention.

BackgroundAims were to assess the efficacy of metacognitive training (MCT) in people with a recent onset of psychosis in terms of symptoms as a primary outcome and metacognitive variables as a secondary outcome.MethodA multicenter, randomized, controlled clinical trial was performed. A total of 126 patients were randomized to an MCT or a psycho-educational intervention with cognitive-behavioral elements. The sample was composed of people with a recent onset of psychosis, recruited from nine public centers in Spain. The treatment consisted of eight weekly sessions for both groups. Patients were assessed at three time-points: baseline, post-treatment, and at 6 months follow-up. The evaluator was blinded to the condition of the patient. Symptoms were assessed with the PANSS and metacognition was assessed with a battery of questionnaires of cognitive biases and social cognition.ResultsBoth MCT and psycho-educational groups had improved symptoms post-treatment and at follow-up, with greater improvements in the MCT group. The MCT group was superior to the psycho-educational group on the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS) total (p= 0.026) and self-certainty (p= 0.035) and dependence self-subscale of irrational beliefs, comparing baseline and post-treatment. Moreover, comparing baseline and follow-up, the MCT group was better than the psycho-educational group in self-reflectiveness on the BCIS (p= 0.047), total BCIS (p= 0.045), and intolerance to frustration (p= 0.014). Jumping to Conclusions (JTC) improved more in the MCT group than the psycho-educational group (p= 0.021). Regarding the comparison within each group, Theory of Mind (ToM), Personalizing Bias, and other subscales of irrational beliefs improved in the MCT group but not the psycho-educational group (p< 0.001–0.032).ConclusionsMCT could be an effective psychological intervention for people with recent onset of psychosis in order to improve cognitive insight, JTC, and tolerance to frustration. It seems that MCT could be useful to improve symptoms, ToM, and personalizing bias.

Background The individual Metacognitive Training (MCT+) is useful to reduce positive symptoms in people with schizophrenia, however less is known in people with first-episode psychosis (FEP). The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of MCT+ in FEP regarding symptoms and cognitive insight. Methods A random clinical trial was performed with people with FEP from 10 clinical centers of Spain. One group received ten sessions of MCT+ and the other group received TAU. A total of 75 patients were included in the study, however only 40 finished the final assessment. Patients were assessed before treatment, post-treatment and 6 month follow-up. The assessment includes a battery of instruments for the main aims the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Beck Cognitive Insight (BCIS) will be analyzed. Repeated measures statistical test were used in order to assess differences between groups. Results Both groups improved in Positive symptoms, in the MCT+ group the difference was 5.18 (SD=6.8) with a significance of p=0.002, while in the TAU group the difference was 3.38 (SD=4.9) with a significance of p=0.005. Regarding cognitive insight, in the MCT+ group patients improved in Self-reflectiveness, obtaining a score in baseline of 15.21 (SD=5.52) and 18 (SD=5.28) in post-treatment (p=0.017). The TAU group did not improve in any subscale of the BCIS. Discussion The MCT+ seems to improve more in positive symptoms than TAU, although both interventions diminished the presence of these symptoms. The MCT+ improved the self-reflectiveness, being one of the important areas for the understanding of the daily social functioning in relation to other. Further analysis should be explored.

Background Social cognition and metacognition have emerged as cornerstones of research and treatment of schizophrenia. Both constructs are known to influence the onset of psychosis, to predict functional outcome and to be associated with symptoms. However, whether the deficits in first-episode psychosis are homogeneous or group in patterns remains to be studied. This study aimed to analyze patterns of social cognitive and metacognitive variables in a sample of subjects with first-episode psychosis. Methods We recruited 192 subjects with first-episode psychosis from ten public mental-health services in Spain. We collected: demographic information, measures of functioning, performance in social cognition (the Faces Test, IPSAQ and the Hinting Task), a battery of metacognitive tasks (BCIS, and the Beads Task) and a neuropsychological assessment. We performed a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) with the metacognitive and social-cognitive variables. The variable importance was assessed via a classification tree (CART) and the mean differences among the resulting groups for clinical, neuropsychological and functioning variables were calculated with ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Results Our sample was comprised of 192 (62 women) with first-episode psychosis. The mean age of the sample was 27.93(1.39). The mean PANSS total score of the sample was 58.48 (17.79). The average GAF score was 58.93 (12.25). We included 174 cases with complete social-cognitive and metacognitive data in the cluster analysis. We identified three type-VEE clusters (i.e. ellipsoidal clusters with equal shape and orientation) according to BIC (BIC=-3600.651). The 85-15 condition of the Beads Task and the Hinting Task emerged as the most important variables in determining the clustering structure. The first cluster (60.9%) was characterized by average scores in most of the metacognitive and social cognitive variables, but the presence of the jumping to conclusions bias. The second cluster (5.7%) was characterized by low self-reflectiveness, presence of personalizing bias and an excessive number of trials in the beads task. The third cluster (33.5%) was characterized by average scores in all metacognitive tasks but low scores in the social cognitive tasks. Discussion We found three clusters in a large sample of subjects with first-episode psychosis. Our results indicate that the three groups differ in the proneness to present deficits in specific domains. Furthermore, in our sample, patients may not exhibit a homogeneous deficit in all social-cognitive and metacognitive variables. Instead, the impairment may be particularly prominent in either social-cognitive or metacognitive variables. Subjects in different clusters may present differences in their clinical characteristics, what could be relevant in the treatment. Therefore, with further research, a thorough assessment of social cognition and metacognition may help personalize the treatment according to the person’s subtype of the deficit.

Introduction: The study aimed to assess gender differences in the efficacy of metacognitive training (MCT) in people with first-episode psychosis in terms of symptoms and cognitive insight as a primary outcome and other metacognitive and social cognition measures as a secondary outcome. Method: A multicenter, controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed including 122 patients with first-episode psychosis. A total of 8 weekly group sessions of MCT or a psychoeducational intervention were performed. Patients were assessed at baseline. posttreatment, and follow-up. Symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and cognitive insight with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. A battery of questionnaires on metacognition and social cognition variables was included to assess secondary outcomes. A regression model for repeated measures was performed by gender. Results: Women of the MCT group improved more in general symptoms (p = .046). self-certainty (p = .010), and a composite index of the cognitive insight (p = .031). Moreover, women in the MCT group showed a reduction in personalizing bias (p = .021) and irrational beliefs related to dependence (p = .024), while men in the MCI group showed an improvement in intolerance to frustration (p = .017). In the Jumping to Conclusions task, men in the MCI group improved in the affective task (p = .021) while no differences were found in women. Conclusions: Our results suggest that MCT is more effective in reducing symptoms and improving cognitive insight for women than men. Moreover, different irrational beliefs and cognitive biases were reduced differently considering gender. MCT could be a gender-sensitive intervention.

INTRODUCTION: The study aimed to assess gender differences in the efficacy of metacognitive training (MCT) in people with first-episode psychosis in terms of symptoms and cognitive insight as a primary outcome and other metacognitive and social cognition measures as a secondary outcome.; METHOD: A multicenter, controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed including 122 patients with first-episode psychosis. A total of 8 weekly group sessions of MCT or a psychoeducational intervention were performed. Patients were assessed at baseline, posttreatment, and follow-up. Symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and cognitive insight with the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. A battery of questionnaires on metacognition and social cognition variables was included to assess secondary outcomes. A regression model for repeated measures was performed by gender.; RESULTS: Women of the MCT group improved more in general symptoms (p = .046), self-certainty (p = .010), and a composite index of the cognitive insight (p = .031). Moreover, women in the MCT group showed a reduction in personalizing bias (p = .021) and irrational beliefs related to dependence (p = .024), while men in the MCT group showed an improvement in intolerance to frustration (p = .017). In the Jumping to Conclusions task, men in the MCT group improved in the affective task (p = .021) while no differences were found in women.; CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that MCT is more effective in reducing symptoms and improving cognitive insight for women than men. Moreover, different irrational beliefs and cognitive biases were reduced differently considering gender. MCT could be a gender-sensitive intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Background: The reasoning bias of jumping to conclusions (JTC) consists of a tendency to make assumptions having little information. Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the differences in neuropsychological functioning between recent onset psychotic patients who jump to conclusions and those who do not jump to conclusions. Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty-two patients with a recent onset of a psychotic disorder were assessed with three JTC tasks and a neuropsychological battery exploring verbal learning, memory, attention, psychomotor speed, visuoperceptual abilities, working memory, problem solving, executive functioning. Results: A total of 29.7% (n = 36) of the individuals jumped to conclusions in Task 1, 14.0% (n = 17) in Task 2, and 15.7% (n = 19) in Task 3. Peoplewho jump to conclusions in three tasks scored significantly worse in many neuropsychological domain deficits, including attention (p < 0.001-0.020), psychomotor speed (p < 0.001), working memory (p < 0.001-0.040), and executive functioning (p < 0.001-0.042). Discussion: The present study demonstrates that JTC is present even in early stages of the illness, and that there is a relationship between JTC and neuropsychological functioning. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Background Social functioning is affected in early psychosis stages. This affection has multiple domains, such as vocational functioning or performance of independent living skills. These different domains are also linked; so elucidating differential or generalized determinants on specific areas and global outcomes is thus a critical step in case conceptualization and the development planning of effective early interventions. The aim of this study was to test the influence of specific domains of metacognition in different and global areas of social functioning. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed based on baseline data from a main multicenter clinical trial. The sample was composed of 122 patients with psychosis of recent onset treated at one of the nine participating mental health centers from diverse regions of Spain. The order of assessment was a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), the Hinting Task (Theory of Mind, ToM), the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale (BCIS), the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ), the Irrational Belief Test (TCI) and the Emotional Recognition Test Faces. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis were performed. Results In the first models, results showed that social engagement/withdrawal was explained by Helplessness (9.2% of the variance). Interpersonal communication was explained by Emotional Irresponsibility, internal attribution of negative events, affective JTC and emotion recognition (17.5% of variance). Independence-competence was explained by Helplessness, Emotional Irresponsibility and ToM (16% of variance). Independence-performance was explained by Helplessness (8.2% of variance). Employment/occupation was explained Emotional Irresponsibility (12.4% of variance). Prosocial Activities was explained by Helplessness and Emotional Irresponsibility (14.4% of variance). Finally, the total score of the SFS was explained by Helplessness and self-reflectiveness (16% of variance). Subsequently, in a second analysis, negative symptoms emerged as a significant mediator for most domains of social functioning. Discussion In our results, two kind of irrational beliefs, one of the main axes of cognitive therapy, emerged as relevant for social functioning in psychosis of recent onset. However, classic social cognition and metacognition measures were less significant, only ToM and self-reflecteness influenced some aspects of social functioning. Further analysis of determinants of social functioning in psychosis should explore the role of irrational beliefs and consider them for treatment strategy, along social cognition and negative symptoms.

La formación en psicoterapias de los M.I.R. es escasa y en pocos lugares de la geografía española podemos encontrar un programa estructurado. En 2008 se publicaba una Orden Ministerial que hacía posible la subespecialidad en psicoterapia el cuarto año de residencia. El desarrollo de esa orden nunca se produjo, pero la publicación en la Guía NICE 2010 de un buen número de psicoterapias con pruebas de eficacia podría dar a las psicoterapias el prestigio que tuvieron antaño. Se hace un recorrido histórico por el controvertido tema de la Práctica Basada en la Evidencia en Psicoterapia, y del movimiento de las competencias profesionales en este ámbito. Existe hoy una tendencia a localizar terapias específicas para trastornos específicos y a formar psicoterapeutas competentes para estas terapias que hayan mostrado evidencia. En el artículo se muestran los puntos frágiles de esta pretendida búsqueda de la competencia, de su enseñanza y evaluación, así como de la tan pregonada como mal interpretada "evidencia" científica.