Understanding the Psychosis Spectrum Using a Hierarchical Model of Social Cognition.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Social cognitive impairments are central to psychosis, including lower severity psychosis-like experiences (PLEs). Nonetheless, progress has been hindered by social cognition's poorly defined factor structure, as well as limited work examining the specificity of social cognitive impairment to psychosis. The present study examined how PLEs relate to social cognition in the context of other psychopathology dimensions, using a hierarchical factors approach to social cognition. STUDY DESIGN: Online community participants (N = 1026) completed psychosis, autism, and personality disorder questionnaires, as well as 3 social cognitive tasks that varied in methodology (vignette vs video) and construct (higher- vs lower-level social cognition). Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used to model social cognition, with the best models being examined in association with PLEs and psychopathology dimensions. STUDY RESULTS: EFA and CFA supported a hierarchical model of social cognition, with 2 higher-order factors emerging: verbal/vignette task methodology and a multimethod general social cognition factor. These higher-order factors accounted for task-level associations to psychopathology, with relations to positive symptoms (r = .23) and antagonism (r = .28). After controlling for other psychopathology, positive symptoms were most clearly related to tasks with verbal methodology (ß = -0.34). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that broad social cognitive processes and method effects may account for many previous findings in psychosis and psychopathology research. Additionally, accounting for broad social cognitive impairment may yield insights into more specific social cognitive processes as well.

Measuring social cognition within the university: The Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation (SCOPE) battery in an undergraduate sample.

Many social cognitive assessments that were developed specifically for use in clinical populations are now being widely used in undergraduate populations, either to provide a comparison for clinical groups or to explore performance across the continuum from healthy to subclinical populations. However, the appropriateness of using these assessments in the general population is unclear. The current study, therefore, seeks to determine whether the Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation (SCOPE) battery retains its psychometric properties when used in an undergraduate sample.The initial SCOPE battery was administered to 265 undergraduate participants, and the utility of the tasks was measured by assessing floor and ceiling effects. Internal consistency, discriminant and convergent validity are reported for each task, and the relationship between task performance and neurocognition and social functioning were assessed.Several of the tasks demonstrated limited utility, with the Hinting Task specifically demonstrating a pronounced ceiling effect. Only two measures of social cognitive biases achieved satisfactory internal consistency. Select tasks demonstrated small, but significant relationships with social functioning outcomes and significantly predicted 2-3% of variance above neurocognition alone.Despite the association with social functioning, results indicate that the psychometric properties demonstrated in the initial SCOPE study with a clinical sample do not fully extend to a healthy undergraduate population and highlight the need for social cognitive tasks that validly assess ability across the continuum.

Prevalence of prominent and predominant negative symptoms across different criteria for negative symptom severity and minimal positive symptoms: A comparison of different criteria.

Negative symptoms are a source of disability in schizophrenia, but criteria for identifying patients for clinical trials are in flux. Minimum severity for negative symptoms is paired with a definition of minimal psychosis to identify predominant negative symptoms. Two previous successful negative symptoms treatment studies used very different severity and selection criteria. We compared the prevalence of participants meeting those two criteria in a large outpatient sample of participants with schizophrenia. Data from 867 outpatients with schizophrenia who participated in one of four NIMH-funded studies were analyzed. Common data elements included diagnoses, the PANSS, and an assessment of everyday functioning. We compared previous criterion for premoninant negative symptoms based on low levels of agitation and psychosis and different cut-offs for negative symptoms severity. 57 % of the participants met the agitation-based criteria for low scores and 33 % met the psychosis-based criteria. 18 % met total PANSS score ≥ 20 and 8 % met ≥24 prominent negative symptoms criteria. 14 % met low agitation and PANSS≥20 and 2 % met the low psychosis and negative symptoms ≥24 criteria. Participants who met all predominant criteria had more impairments in social functioning (all p < .001, all d > 0.37). Criteria for predominant negative symptoms from previous clinical trials identify widely different numbers of cases, with criteria for negative symptom severity and low symptoms both impacting. All criteria yield the expected profile of relatively specific social deficits. Even in unselected populations who participated in complex research protocols, 14 % meet low- agitation based criteria for predominant negative symptoms and many more participants would be expected to meet criteria with enrichment for the presence of negative symptoms.

Media Use and Its Associations With Paranoia in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: Ecological Momentary Assessment.

Background: Paranoia is a spectrum of fear-related experiences that spans diagnostic categories and is influenced by social and cognitive factors. The extent to which social media and other types of media use are associated with paranoia remains unclear. Objective: We aimed to examine associations between media use and paranoia at the within- and between-person levels. Methods: Participants were 409 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum or bipolar disorder. Measures included sociodemographic and clinical characteristics at baseline, followed by ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) collected 3 times daily over 30 days. EMA evaluated paranoia and 5 types of media use: social media, television, music, reading or writing, and other internet or computer use. Generalized linear mixed models were used to examine paranoia as a function of each type of media use and vice versa at the within- and between-person levels. Results: Of the 409 participants, the following subgroups reported at least 1 instance of media use: 261 (63.8%) for using social media, 385 (94.1%) for watching TV, 292 (71.4%) for listening to music, 191 (46.7%) for reading or writing, and 280 (68.5%) for other internet or computer use. Gender, ethnoracial groups, educational attainment, and diagnosis of schizophrenia versus bipolar disorder were differentially associated with the likelihood of media use. There was a within-person association between social media use and paranoia: using social media was associated with a subsequent decrease of 5.5% (fold-change 0.945, 95% CI 0.904-0.987) in paranoia. The reverse association, from paranoia to subsequent changes in social media use, was not statistically significant. Other types of media use were not significantly associated with paranoia. Conclusions: This study shows that social media use was associated with a modest decrease in paranoia, perhaps reflecting the clinical benefits of social connection. However, structural disadvantage and individual factors may hamper the accessibility of media activities, and the mental health correlates of media use may further vary as a function of contents and contexts of use.

A Developmental Perspective on Early and Current Motor Abnormalities and Psychotic-Like Symptoms.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are prevalent in the general population and, because they represent a lower end of the psychosis vulnerability spectrum, may be useful in informing mechanistic understanding. Although it is well-understood that motor signs characterize formal psychotic disorders, the developmental trajectory of these features and their relationships with PLEs are less well-understood. STUDY DESIGN: Data from 7559 adolescents and young adults (age 11-21) in the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort were used to investigate whether early-life milestone-attainment delays relate to current adolescent sensorimotor functioning and positive and negative PLEs. Current sensorimotor functioning was assessed using the Computerized Finger Tapping task (assessing motor slowing) and Mouse Practice task (assessing sensorimotor planning). STUDY RESULTS: Early developmental abnormalities were related to current adolescent-aged motor slowing (t(7415.3) = -7.74, corrected-P < .001) and impaired sensorimotor planning (t(7502.5) = 5.57, corrected-P < .001). There was a significant interaction between developmental delays and current sensorimotor functioning on positive and negative PLEs (t = 1.67-4.51), such that individuals with early developmental delays had a stronger positive relationship between sensorimotor dysfunction and PLEs. Importantly, interaction models were significantly better at explaining current PLEs than those treating early and current sensorimotor dysfunction independently (χ2 = 4.89-20.34). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest a relationship between early developmental delays and current sensorimotor functioning in psychosis proneness and inform an understanding of heterotypic continuity as well as a neurodevelopmental perspective of motor circuits. Furthermore, results indicate that motor signs are a clear factor in the psychosis continuum, suggesting that they may represent a core feature of psychosis vulnerability.

Associations between fearlessness about death and suicidal ideation in individuals with psychosis.

BACKGROUND: Despite high rates of suicide among people with psychosis, relatively little is known about the mechanisms underlying the transition from suicidal ideation to behavior in this population. The Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS) proposes that fearlessness about death (FAD) may play a role in this relationship. The present study tested whether constructs of the IPTS [thwarted belongingness (TB), perceived burdensomeness (PB), and FAD] were associated with the severity of suicidal ideation in a sample of adults with histories of psychosis. METHOD: 261 adults with histories of psychosis completed measures of IPTS constructs, current severity of suicidal ideation, and history of suicidal attempts. We examined differences between those with past suicide attempts and those without and conducted regression analyses to evaluate the associations among TB, PB, FAD and severity of current suicidal ideation. RESULTS: Contrary to expectations, a history of suicidal behavior was not uniquely associated with FAD. Regression analyses revealed TB × PB and FAD × PB interactions emerged as significant correlates of the severity of suicidal ideation, with the relationship between PB and suicidal ideation more pronounced at higher levels of FAD and TB. Interestingly, positive symptoms of psychosis were positively associated with PB. IMPLICATIONS: This study provides support for broadening the investigation of FAD as a contributor to suicidal ideation in individuals with psychotic symptoms. Future research investigating the role of other contributors that may influence capability for suicide (e.g., impulsivity) may add additional understanding of suicide in this population.

Comparisons of Self-Report With Objective Measurements Suggest Faster Responding but Little Change in Response Quality Over Time in Ecological Momentary Assessment Studies.

Response times (RTs) to ecological momentary assessment (EMA) items often decrease after repeated EMA administration, but whether this is accompanied by lower response quality requires investigation. We examined the relationship between EMA item RTs and EMA response quality. In one data set, declining response quality was operationalized as decreasing correspondence over time between subjective and objective measures of blood glucose taken at the same time. In a second EMA study data set, declining response quality was operationalized as decreasing correspondence between subjective ratings of memory test performance and objective memory test scores. We assumed that measurement error in the objective measures did not increase across time, meaning that decreasing correspondence across days within a person could be attributed to lower response quality. RTs to EMA items decreased across study days, while no decrements in the mean response quality were observed. Decreasing EMA item RTs across study days did not appear problematic overall.

Relationships between Sleep Quality, Introspective Accuracy, and Confidence Differ among People with Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, and Bipolar Disorder with Psychotic Features.

People with schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar disorders have difficulty accurately estimating their abilities and skills (impaired introspective accuracy [IA]) and tend to over- or underestimate their performance. This discrepancy between self-reported and objective task performance has been identified as a significant predictor of functional impairment. Yet, the factors driving this discrepancy are currently unclear. To date, the relationships between sleep quality and IA have not been examined. The current study aimed to explore the relationships between sleep quality and IA in participants diagnosed with schizophrenia (SCZ; n = 36), schizoaffective disorder (SCZ-A; n = 55), and bipolar disorder with psychotic features (BP; n = 87). Participants completed tasks of emotion recognition, estimated their performance on the tasks (used to calculate IA), and provided confidence ratings for their accuracy judgments. Participants also self-reported their sleep quality. These results suggest significantly greater discrepancies between self-reported and actual task scores for those with SCZ and SCZ-A compared to participants with BP. For those with SCZ, lower confidence on the tasks and underestimation of abilities were associated with lower sleep quality, while for those with SCZ-A, lower sleep quality was associated with higher confidence and overestimation of performance. Results suggest differential relationships between diagnostic groups. Future research is needed to further explore the factors driving these differing relationships, particularly the contrasting relationships between SCZ and SCZ-A.

Identity recognition from faces and bodies in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Deficits in facial identity recognition and its association with poor social functioning are well documented in schizophrenia, but none of these studies have assessed the role of the body in these processes. Recent research in healthy populations shows that the body is also an important source of information in identity recognition, and the current study aimed to thoroughly examine identity recognition from both faces and bodies in schizophrenia. Sixty-five individuals with schizophrenia and forty-nine healthy controls completed three conditions of an identity matching task in which they attempted to match unidentified persons in unedited photos of faces and bodies, edited photos showing faces only, or edited photos showing bodies only. Results revealed global deficits in identity recognition in individuals with schizophrenia (ηp2 = 0.068), but both groups showed better recognition from bodies alone as compared to faces alone (ηp2 = 0.573), suggesting that the ability to extract useful information from bodies when identifying persons may remain partially preserved in schizophrenia. Further research is necessary to understand the relationship between face/body processing, identity recognition, and functional outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

A meta-cognitive Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Self-assessment of sorting performance.

People with serious mental illness have challenged self-awareness, including momentary monitoring of performance. A core feature of this challenge is in the domain of using external information to guide behavior, an ability that is measured very well by certain problem-solving tasks such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) . We used a modified WCST to examine correct sorts and accuracy decisions regarding the correctness of sort. Participants with schizophrenia (n = 99) or bipolar disorder (n = 76) sorted 64 cards and then made judgments regarding correctness of each sort prior to feedback. Time series analyses examined the course of correct sorts and correct accuracy decisions by examining the momentary correlation and lagged correlation on the next sort. People with schizophrenia had fewer correct sorts, fewer categories, and fewer correct accuracy decisions (all p<.001). Positive response biases were seen in both groups. After an incorrect sort or accuracy decision, the groups were equally likely to be incorrect on the next sort or accuracy decision. Following correct accuracy decisions, participants with bipolar disorder were significantly (p=.003) more likely to produce a correct sort or accuracy decision. These data are consistent with previous studies implicating failures to consider external feedback for decision making. Interventions aimed at increasing consideration of external information during decision making have been developed and interventions targeting use of feedback during cognitive test performance are in development.

A Cross-sectional Conceptual Replication and Longitudinal Evaluation of the PANSS-Autism-Severity-Score Measure Suggests it Does Not Capture Autistic Traits in Individuals With Psychosis.

BACKGROUND: Autism and psychosis co-occur at elevated rates, with implications for clinical outcomes, functioning, and suicidality. The PANSS-Autism-Severity-Score (PAUSS) is a measure of autism trait severity which has not yet been validated externally or longitudinally. STUDY DESIGN: Participants were derived from the GROUP and SCOPE datasets. Participants included 1448 adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD), 800 SSD-siblings, 103 adults diagnosed with an autistic spectrum condition (ASC), and 409 typically-developing controls (TC). Analyses from the original validation study were conducted with SSD participants, and extended into ASC, SSD-sibling, and TC participants. Test-retest reliability of the PAUSS at 2-weeks and long-term stability 3 and 6-years was also examined. STUDY RESULTS: Results differed in important ways from the original validation. SSD participants reported higher PAUSS scores than other groups, with only a fraction of ASC participants scoring as "PAUSS-Autistic." Cronbach's alpha was acceptable for the SSD cohort only. Two-week stability of the PAUSS was fair to good for all PAUSS scores. Long-term stability was poor for most PAUSS items but fair for total PAUSS score. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the PAUSS does not appear appropriate for assessing autism, with the low rate of PAUSS-Autistic in the ASC population suggesting the PAUSS may not accurately reflect characteristics of autism. The relative lack of long-term stability is cause for concern and suggestive that the PAUSS is capturing features of psychosis rather than autism traits.

Immediate post performance judgements about cognitive performance in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: associations with test performance and subjective overall judgments regarding abilities.

INTRODUCTION: The study explored associations between the accuracy of post assessment judgements of cognitive performance with global self-assessments of psychosocial functioning compared to evaluations generated by observers in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. METHODS: An abbreviated cognitive assessment based on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery was administered to 122 individuals with schizophrenia and 113 with bipolar disorder. They provided self-estimates of their performance after each subtest. In addition, self-reports on cognition, social cognition, and everyday functioning were collected and compared to observer ratings. RESULTS: Both groups overestimated their cognitive function, but in bipolar disorder, there was 30% shared variance between task performance and self-rated task performance (vs. 5% in schizophrenia). Significant correlations were found between self-reported everyday outcomes and both actual and self-assessed performance. In schizophrenia, immediate judgements were only related to self-rated functioning, not to observer rated functioning. In bipolar disorder, impairments in self-assessment of performance correlated with observer ratings of cognitive ability, which was not observed in schizophrenia. CONCLUSIONS: While both groups showed correlations between cognitive performance and introspective accuracy, individuals with bipolar disorder showed higher accuracy in assessing their cognitive performance and other outcomes. Notably, impairments in introspective accuracy were associated with observer-rated functioning exclusively in bipolar disorder.

Assessing the diametrical model of schizotypal and autistic traits in emotion recognition and social functioning in a community sample.

BACKGROUND: Some research suggests that schizotypal and autistic traits can produce opposing effects on the mentalizing domain of social cognition. Although such findings support a diametrical model proposing that psychotic and autistic traits represent opposite extremes of the social brain continuum, results from recent studies have been more inconsistent, and the applicability of this model to other social cognition domains remains unclear. To test the diametrical model more broadly, this study examined the interactions between schizotypal and autistic traits on emotion recognition and social functioning. METHOD: A total of 791 participants recruited from the general population self-reported schizotypal traits using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Revised (SPQ-BR) and autistic traits using the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ). Participants also completed the Emotion Recognition 40 task and the Specific Levels of Functioning (SLOF) scale. RESULTS: The SPQ subscales of interpersonal relationships and disorganized symptoms interacted significantly with social BAP on overall emotion recognition performance and the accuracy of identifying neutral faces. Supporting the diametrical model, elevated levels of both schizotypal and autistic traits contributed to higher emotion recognition accuracy compared to elevations on only one trait. For social functioning, however, the diametrical model was not supported. A main effect was found such that higher interpersonal relationship difficulties on SPQ predicted lower work skills on SLOF, and higher levels of both schizotypal and autistic traits combined to produce even lower social functioning. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the diametrical model may be more relevant to social cognition than to social functioning.

The Tripartite Model of Depression in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder: A Secondary Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Models of affect, like the tripartite model, suggest that positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) are independent between subjects and negatively correlated within. Correlations may differ in bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and clinical ratings, this secondary analysis evaluated the tripartite model by examining PA and NA. Two hundred eighty-one participants with BD or a psychotic disorder completed 30 days of EMA of PA and NA, and clinical raters assessed depression. PA and NA were more related between subjects and less related within subjects among participants with schizophrenia. In BD, lower momentary PA was positively associated with clinical ratings of depression, although greater momentary NA was not significantly associated with clinical ratings. In schizophrenia, the inverse was found. These results suggest that the tripartite model was not confirmed in people with schizophrenia or BD. However, PA and NA manifested associations in BD that were more congruent with population studies than in schizophrenia. These findings may have implications for clinical interventions targeting depression, PA, and NA in these populations.

Life engagement in people living with schizophrenia: predictors and correlates of patient life engagement in a large sample of people living in the community.

BACKGROUND: Life engagement represents a holistic concept that encompasses outcomes reflecting life-fulfilment, well-being and participation in valued and meaningful activities, which is recently gaining attention and scientific interest. Despite its conceptual importance and its relevance, life engagement represents a largely unexplored domain in schizophrenia. The aims of the present study were to independently assess correlates and predictors of patient life engagement in a large and well-characterized sample of schizophrenia patients. METHODS: To assess the impact of different demographic, clinical, cognitive and functional parameters on life engagement in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia, data from the social cognition psychometric evaluation project were analyzed. RESULTS: Overall schizophrenia and depressive symptom severity, premorbid IQ, neurocognitive performance, social cognition performance both in the emotion processing and theory of mind domains, functional capacity, social skills performance and real-world functioning in different areas all emerged as correlates of patient life engagement. Greater symptom severity and greater impairment in real-world interpersonal relationships, social skills, functional capacity and work outcomes emerged as individual predictors of greater limitations in life engagement. CONCLUSIONS: Life engagement in people living with schizophrenia represents a holistic and complex construct, with several different clinical, cognitive and functional correlates. These features represent potential treatment targets to improve the clinical condition and also facilitate the process of recovery and the overall well-being of people living with schizophrenia.

Demoralization in Schizophrenia: A Pathway to Suicidal Ideation?

Introduction: Individuals with schizophrenia are at increased risk for suicide, and the Demoralization Hypothesis states that non-delusional awareness of one's social, cognitive, or occupational deterioration elicits depression and hopelessness. Both depression and hopelessness are established risk factors for suicide and are features of schizophrenia. The present study investigated whether insight into one's schizophrenia yields suicidal ideation, specifically by way of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, which are constructs related to demoralization and measured by the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ). Methods: Three separate models explored the mediating role of INQ scores on suicidal ideation in 99 participants with schizophrenia. With suicidal ideation entered as the dependent variable and INQ scores entered as the mediator, the first model included insight as the independent variable, the second included cognitive functioning, and the third included cognitive deterioration post-illness-onset. Results: Consistent with our hypothesis, INQ scores related to suicidal ideation (B = .03, SE = .01, p < .001). However, neither insight, cognitive functioning, nor cognitive deterioration predicted INQ scores or suicidal ideation. Additionally, INQ scores did not mediate relationships with suicidal, ideation. Conclusion: Although INQ scores led to increased suicidal ideation, neither insight into illness, current cognitive functioning, nor shift in functioning led to increased INQ scores. Implications are discussed, and future directions are proposed.

Dynamics of task-based confidence in schizophrenia using seasonal decomposition approach.

Objective: Introspective Accuracy (IA) is a metacognitive construct that refers to alignment of self-generated accuracy judgments, confidence, and objective information regarding performance. IA not only refers to accuracy and confidence during tasks, but also predicts functional outcomes. The consistency and magnitude of IA deficits suggest a sustained disconnect between self-assessments and actual performance. The cognitive origins of IA are unclear and are not simply due to poor performance. We tried to capture task and diagnosis-related differences through examining confidence as a timeseries. Method: This relatively large sample (N = 171; Bipolar = 71, Schizophrenia = 100) study used item by item confidence judgments for tasks including the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and the Emotion Recognition task (ER-40). Using a seasonal decomposition approach and AutoRegressive, Integrative and Moving Averages (ARIMA) time-series analyses we tested for the presence of randomness and perseveration. Results: For the WCST, comparisons across participants with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder found similar trends and residuals, thus excluding perseverative or random responding. However, seasonal components were weaker in participants with schizophrenia, reflecting a reduced impact of feedback on confidence. In contrast, for the ER40, which does not require identification of a sustained construct, seasonal, trend, and residual analyses were highly comparable. Conclusion: Seasonal analysis revealed that confidence judgments in participants with schizophrenia on tasks requiring responses to feedback reflected diminished incorporation of external information, not random or preservative responding. These analyses highlight how time series analyses can specify potential faulty processes for future intervention.

Time-course and convergence of positive and negative moods in participants with schizophrenia: An ecological momentary assessment study.

INTRODUCTION: Many people with schizophrenia report low levels of negative affect (NA), which may reflect biases in emotion processing. In the general population there is an inverse correlation between positive affect (PA) and NA. It is possible that this relationship is different among people with schizophrenia. This study aims to understand the relationship between PA and NA among people with schizophrenia, and explore PA and NA variability in relationship to social context. METHOD: 105 participants with schizophrenia answered ecological momentary assessment (EMA) surveys seven times/day for seven days. They reported their experiences of mood states on a scale of one to seven: happiness, sadness, relaxation, and anxiety, as well as their social context (alone vs. with someone). Mood variability was calculated using the mean square of successive difference, and multilevel modeling was used to understand the time-course of reported moods within- and between-person. RESULTS: 45% of surveys reported the absence of NA, though there was an inverse within-subjects correlation between PA and NA. Between-subjects, there was a large inverse correlation between PA and NA. Greater mood variability was associated with a greater number of social interactions. DISCUSSION: The results of this study point to both the role of social context in mood variability, and momentary trends in mood experiences, with some individuals reporting no NA, some indicating both PA and NA, and some indicating a more normative affect pattern. Later research should address the possible impact of emotion perception bias and social interactions on moods states in schizophrenia.

Childhood trauma and real-world social experiences in psychosis.

BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma is associated with a variety of negative outcomes in psychosis, but it is unclear clear if childhood trauma affects day-to-day social experiences. We aimed to examine the association between childhood trauma and functional and structural characteristics of real-world social relationships in psychosis. METHODS: Participants with psychotic disorders or affective disorders with psychosis completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) over ten days (N = 209). Childhood trauma was assessed retrospectively using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Associations between childhood trauma and EMA-assessed social behavior and perceptions were examined using linear mixed models. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and psychotic and depressive symptom severity. RESULTS: Higher levels of childhood trauma were associated with more perceived threat (B = -0.19, 95 % CI [-0.33, -0.04]) and negative self-perception (B = -0.18, 95 % CI [-0.34, -0.01]) during recent social interactions, as well as reduced social motivation (B = -0.29, 95 % CI [-0.47, -0.10]), higher desire for social avoidance (B = 0.34, 95 % CI [0.14, 0.55]), and lower sense of belongingness (B = -0.24, 95 % CI [-0.42, -0.06]). These negative social perceptions were mainly linked with emotional abuse and emotional neglect. In addition, paranoia was more strongly associated with negative social perceptions in individuals with high versus low levels of trauma. Childhood trauma was not associated with frequency (i.e., time spent alone) or type of social interactions. CONCLUSION: Childhood trauma - particularly emotional abuse and neglect - is associated with negative social perceptions but not frequency of real-world social interactions. Our findings suggest that childhood trauma may affect day-to-day social experiences beyond its association with psychosis.