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Objective: Loneliness is a concern for patients with schizophrenia. However, the correlates of loneliness in patients with schizophrenia are unclear; thus, the aim of the study is to investigate neuro- and social cognitive mechanisms associated with loneliness in individuals with schizophrenia. Method: Data from clinical, neurocognitive, and social cognitive assessments were pooled from two cross-national samples (Poland/USA) to examine potential predictors of loneliness in 147 patients with schizophrenia and 103 healthy controls overall. Furthermore, the relationship between social cognition and loneliness was explored in clusters of patients with schizophrenia differing in social cognitive capacity. Results: Patients reported higher levels of loneliness than healthy controls. Loneliness was linked to increased negative and affective symptoms in patients. A negative association between loneliness and mentalizing and emotion recognition abilities was found in the patients with social-cognitive impairments, but not in those who performed at normative levels. Conclusions: We have elucidated a novel mechanism which may explain previous inconsistent findings regarding the correlates of loneliness in individuals with schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the relationships between perceived stigma and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), demographic characteristics, and clinical and psychosocial functioning in persons with a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Method: A total of 399 participants with FEP presenting for treatment at 34 sites in 21 states throughout the United States were evaluated using standardized instruments to assess diagnosis, symptoms, psychosocial functioning, perceived stigma, wellbeing, and subjective recovery. Results: Perceived stigma was correlated with a range of demographic and clinical variables, including DUP, symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and subjective experience. After controlling for symptom severity, perceived stigma was related to longer DUP, schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, more severe depression, and lower wellbeing and recovery. The associations between stigma and depression, wellbeing, and recovery were stronger in individuals with long than short DUP, suggesting the effects of stigma on psychological functioning may be cumulative over the period of untreated psychosis. Conclusion: The findings suggest that independent of symptom severity, perceived stigma may contribute to delay in seeking treatment for FEP, and this delay may amplify the deleterious effects of stigma on psychological functioning. The results point to the importance of reducing DUP and validating interventions targeting the psychological effects of stigma in people with FEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated (a) whether chronic, medicated schizophrenia patients show deficits in emotion recognition compared to nonpatients, and (b) whether deficits in emotion recognition are related to poorer social competence. Two emotion recognition tests developed by S. L. Kerr and J. M. Neale (1993) and Benton's Test of Facial Recognition (A. Benton, M. VanAllen, K. Hamsher, & H. Levin, 1978) were given to patients with chronic schizophrenia and nonpatient controls. Patients' social skills, social adjustment, and symptomatology were assessed. Like Kerr and Neale's unmedicated patients, these patients performed worse than controls on both emotion recognition tests and the control test. For patients, facial perception was related to the chronicity of illness and social competence. Chronicity of illness may contribute to face perception deficits in schizophrenia, which may affect social competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We evaluate how often scholars of color publish papers on schizophrenia in high-impact psychiatric journals, and whether they are more likely than white authors to prioritize race/ethnicity as a primary variable of interest in analyses., Methods: Prior work categorized the types of ethnoracial analyses reported in 474 papers about schizophrenia published in high-impact psychiatric journals between 2014 and 2016. In this study, the photographs of the first and last author for each paper were coded as "person of color" (POC) or "white". Additionally, each author was asked to self-report their race and ethnicity. The percentage of papers published by white versus POC authors was calculated. Chi-square analyses tested the hypotheses that (a) white scholars are more likely than POC scholars to conduct any sort of racial analysis; (b) POC scholars are more likely to conduct primary analyses by race/ethnicity; and (c) white scholars are more likely to analyze race/ethnicity as extraneous variables., Results: Eighteen percent of papers were published by POC first authors, and 17% were published by POC last authors. There were minimal differences in the types of analyses conducted by POC and white authors. Self-reported race/ethnicity showed that Asian scholars were the most highly represented within POC authors (9% of respondents), but only 3% of authors identified as Hispanic/Latinx and none identified as Black or Indigenous American., Conclusions: People of color are underrepresented as authors in US-based schizophrenia research published in high-impact journals. Culturally-informed mentorship as well as prioritization of race/ethnicity in funding structures are important to increase representation of POC authors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors report any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Training in Affect Recognition (TAR) is a "targeted" and computer-aided program that has been shown to effectively attenuate facial affect recognition deficits and improve social functioning in patients with schizophrenia. Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) is a group "broad-based" intervention, that has also been shown to improve emotion recognition, theory of mind (ToM), and social functioning. To date, no study has compared the efficacy of two different social cognitive interventions., Objectives: We aim to compare the efficacy of TAR and SCIT on schizophrenia patients' performance on facial affect recognition, theory of mind, attributional style and social functioning before, after treatment, and three months thereafter., Methods: One hundred outpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia were randomly assigned to the TAR or SCIT condition and completed pre- (T0) and posttreatment (T1) assessments and a 3-month follow up (T2) of emotion recognition (ER-40), theory of mind (Hinting Task), attributional style (AIHQ) and social functioning (PSP)., Results: The entire sample, receiving TAR or SCIT, showed improvements in theory of mind, attributional style, clinical symptoms and social functioning. This effect was maintained at three-months. The TAR intervention was more efficacious than the SCIT program in improving the recognition of facial emotions (ER-40). The TAR intervention also demonstrated a lower drop-out rate than the SCIT intervention., Conclusions: There were improvements in social cognition, symptomatology and functioning of patients in the entire sample, receiving SCIT or TAR. Both TAR and SCIT appear as valuable treatments for people with schizophrenia and social cognitive deficits., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Psychological and pharmacological treatments have been shown to reduce rates of transition to psychosis in Ultra High Risk (UHR) young people. However, social functioning deficits have been unresponsive to current treatments., Aims: The study aims were to: i) describe the theoretical basis and therapeutic targets of a novel intervention targeting social functioning in UHR young people; and ii) examine its acceptability, safety and preliminary effect on social functioning., Methods: An international, multidisciplinary team developed a new intervention (MOMENTUM) to improve social functioning in UHR young people. MOMENTUM blends two novel approaches to social recovery: strengths and mindfulness-based intervention embedded within a social media environment, and application of the self-determination theory of motivation. The acceptability and safety of MOMENTUM were tested through a 2-month pilot study with 14 UHR participants., Results: System usage was high, with over 70% of users being actively engaged over the trial. All participants reported a positive experience using MOMENTUM, considered it safe and would recommend it to others. 93% reported it to be helpful. There were large, reliable improvements in social functioning (d = 1.83, p < 0.001) and subjective wellbeing (d = 0.75, p = 0.03) at follow-up. There were significant increases in the mechanisms targeted by the intervention including strengths usage (d = 0.70, p = 0.03), mindfulness skills (d = 0.66, p = 0.04) and components of social support. Social functioning improvement was significantly correlated with indicators of system usage., Conclusion: MOMENTUM is engaging and safe. MOMENTUM appeared to engage the hypothesized mechanisms and showed promise as a new avenue to improve social functioning in UHR young people., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)