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The current study outlines the evaluation of the Slovak adaptation of the fifteen-item Revised Social Anhedonia Scale-Brief (RSAS-B). The final sample consisted of 1287 university students, of whom 75.71% were women (a mean age of 22.62 ± 4.01). The factor structure, construct validity and reliability were examined. The results demonstrate the sound psychometric properties of the Slovak version of the RSAS-B. McDonald's omega was 0.79 and Cronbach's was 0.79, both indicating the good reliability of the scale. The confirmatory factor analysis supported a one-factor solution as the adequate model in the non-clinical sample. The RSAS-B scores were positively related to other measures of psychopathology, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item, the Social Anxiety Disorder Dimensional Scale, and the Social Functioning Scale. The normative data were developed separately for men and women. The RSAS-B can be used as an adequate screening method to determine the social anhedonia., Author(s): Alexandra Straková [sup.1] [sup.2] , Jakub Januska [sup.1] [sup.2] , Anton Heretik [sup.1] [sup.2] , Barbora Vasecková [sup.3] , Ľubica Forgácová [sup.3] , Michal Patarák [sup.4] , Ján Pecenák [...]

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This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the momentary emotional experience of people with schizophrenia and those at risk for psychosis compared with that of healthy individuals. Key Points: Question: Does the momentary emotional experience of people with schizophrenia and of people at risk for psychosis differ from that of healthy people? Findings: This systematic review and meta-analysis included data from 111 emotion-induction studies and 6913 participants. People with schizophrenia and those at risk for psychosis experienced pleasant stimuli as less positive (small effect) and more negative (moderate effect) and neutral stimuli as more negative (moderate effect) than healthy controls; results were less conclusive for unpleasant stimuli. Meaning: In this study, there was a reliable pattern of aberrant emotional experience in schizophrenia, most notably for pleasant stimuli, that already manifested before disorder onset. Importance: Psychotic symptoms are associated with subjective reports of aberrant emotion, such as excessive fear or anhedonia, but whether these aberrations reflect aberrant emotional experience of normative stimuli is uncertain both for individuals with schizophrenia and those at risk for psychosis. Objective: To provide a meta-analysis of study samples of emotional experience in individuals with schizophrenia and those at risk for psychosis as assessed in laboratory-based emotion-induction studies. Data Sources: MEDLINE and PsycINFO databases were searched for articles published from January 1986 and Google Scholar citations of a relevant earlier meta-analysis until August 2022. Reference lists were manually searched for additional studies. Study Selection: Included studies measured positive or negative emotional experience in response to standardized emotionally evocative stimuli and compared participants diagnosed with schizophrenia or participants at risk for psychosis with healthy controls. Data Extraction and Synthesis: The meta-analysis was registered with PROSPERO and followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines. Data were extracted by 2 independent coders, and random-effects analyses were conducted. Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes were 3 scales of emotional experience (unipolar positive emotion, unipolar negative emotion, bipolar valence), analyzed separately for pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant stimuli. A meta-analysis was conducted for differences between the 2 clinical groups combined and controls. Subgroup differences (schizophrenia vs at risk) and the influence of several other variables were tested in moderator analyses. Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis included data from 111 studies and 6913 participants (schizophrenia: 2848 [41.2%]; at risk: 877 [12.7%]; healthy controls: 3188 [46.1%]). Compared with controls, people with schizophrenia and those at risk for psychosis experienced pleasant stimuli as less positive (unipolar positive: standardized mean difference [SMD] Hedges g = −0.19; P =.001; bipolar valence: SMD Hedges g = −0.28; P <.001) and more negative (Hedges g = 0.52; P <.001), neutral stimuli as more negative (Hedges g = 0.55; P <.001), and unpleasant stimuli as both more positive (unipolar positive: SMD Hedges g = 0.23; P =.005; bipolar valence: Hedges g = 0.12; P =.01) and more negative (Hedges g = 0.22; P <.001). Moderator analyses indicated a less aberrant emotional experience for odors than for visual stimuli (unipolar negative, pleasant z score = −2.97; P =.003; unipolar negative, neutral z score = −2.70; P =.007), an association between higher negative symptoms and diminished positive emotion for pleasant stimuli in schizophrenia (z score = −2.98; P =.003), and that subgroup differences were limited to neutral stimuli. Conclusions and Relevance: Results suggest a pattern of aberrant emotional experience of normative stimuli in schizophrenia and that this already was observable before disorder onset. In particular, the aberrant experience of pleasant stimuli needs to be considered as an intervention target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ) is a widely used measure for psychosis risk assessment. The primary aim of this study is to examine the reliability and discriminant validity of the Slovak version of the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) in a sample of university students. A sample of 1276 (75% female) university students completed a cross-sectional online survey consisting of a large battery of scales measuring psychopathology, social functioning, and well-being. The mean age was M = 22.59 and SD = 3.94. On a bivariate level, the prodromal symptoms severity measured by the PQ-16 was associated with depression, anxiety, lower well-being, and more severe problems in social functioning. The PQ-16 explained a significant variability of social functioning above and beyond the effect of depression and anxiety. Results revealed sufficient internal reliability (α = 0.774 and ω = 0.761) of the scale. The Slovak version of the PQ-16 has sound reliability and shows an adequate pattern of association with depression, anxiety, and social functioning. These promising findings need to be replicated on an independent sample of help-seeking individuals or a high-risk population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The present study examines the impact of induced social stress on facial trustworthiness judgments in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) and the associations between symptoms and trustworthiness ratings. Thirty‐three individuals with SCZ and forty healthy controls (HC) were asked to rate the trustworthiness of 24 digitally morphed faces in two counterbalanced conditions. Mild social stress was induced by listening to loud noises from a busy street. BPRS, CAPE‐42, and the Paranoia Scale measured the severity of symptoms. We did not observe significant differences in trustworthiness judgments between the patient and control groups. Social stress did not impact trust judgments. Paranoia was negatively connected to trustworthiness ratings in the control group. Subjective rating of stress in noise condition was negatively associated with paranoia only in the control sample. In the patient group, a negative correlation was found between trustworthiness ratings in stress conditions and the severity of self‐reported negative symptoms. Our results suggest that mild social stress does not significantly affect trustworthiness judgments in either patients with SCZ or in HC. Differences between the patient and control groups in trustworthiness judgments were negligible. Overall, the results of this study can be considered mainly negative and contrast with previous studies. The stress induction paradigm or a smaller sample size might cause observed results. In controls, biased face perception was linked to trait paranoia. By contrast, in SCZ, other factors might impact trust perception and need further examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]