Schizotypal, schizoid and paranoid characteristics in the biological parents of social anhedonics.

Mounting evidence suggests that social anhedonia may be a marker of genetic liability for schizophrenia-spectrum pathology. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted a study of severity of schizotypal, schizoid and paranoid pathology (i.e., Cluster A personality disorders) in the biological parents of individuals with high levels of social anhedonia and healthy controls. Eighty-six individuals with social anhedonia, 89 healthy controls and their biological parents were recruited from a large community. Structured clinical interviews were conducted to obtain Cluster A diagnoses and symptom ratings for parents. The biological parents of socially anhedonic probands had elevated rates of Cluster A disorders (24%) compared with the parents of control probands (12%). Post hoc analyses revealed that these group differences were the result of elevated rates of diagnoses in the fathers of social anhedonic probands, but not the mothers. This finding was replicated when Cluster A symptoms were examined dimensionally. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that social anhedonia is a promising indicator of the genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia-spectrum pathology. The unexpected findings of elevated pathology in fathers, but not mothers of socially anhedonic probands, require further exploration.

Specific cognitive deficits and differential domains of social functioning impairment in schizophrenia.

There is considerable inconsistency in findings regarding the relationship between specific cognitive deficits and social impairment in patients with schizophrenia. This inconsistency may relate to variability across studies in how social functioning is measured and preliminary evidence suggests that different indices of social functioning (e.g., laboratory test, community assessment) may have different cognitive correlates. The present study examined this issue by evaluating the relationships between cognitive deficits (including social cognitive deficits), role-play test performance, and community social functioning in 28 inpatients with schizophrenia. We expected the two measures of social functioning to have only modest convergence with each other. Moreover, informed by the literature on cognitive functioning in schizophrenia, we identified specific cognitive processes that were hypothesized to be associated with role-play performance (delayed verbal memory and attentional vigilance) and social functioning in the community (delayed verbal memory and executive functioning). As expected, the two measures of social functioning were modestly correlated with each other. Community social functioning was associated with a relatively constrained pattern of cognitive deficits and received a significant contribution (Deltar2=0.24) from specific cognitive processes beyond that of general cognitive functioning and symptom severity. In contrast to our hypotheses, role-play test performance was associated with a wide range of cognitive impairments and received little contribution from the specific cognitive processes beyond the effects of general cognitive functioning. Community social functioning, but not role-play test performance, was significantly associated with social cognition. These findings highlight the importance of conceptualizing social functioning as a multidimensional construct for schizophrenia research.

Benefits and changes for family to family graduates.

Family members of people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) need information and support to cope with the considerable stresses they experience. The Family to Family Education Program (FtF) is a structured, peer-led, 12-week information and support self-help class for such individuals. Previous research by Dixon et al. (2004) shows reduced subjective burden and increased empowerment among graduates. The present study sought to understand what processes take place during FtF participation that might lead to these benefits, as a first step in building a conceptual model of how FtF causes its effects, using semi-structured interviews with 31 FtF graduates. Qualitative data analysis suggested that new factual and emotional information from FtF shifts interviewees' understanding of their situation and that skills acquired through FtF then allow participants to incorporate these new perspectives into more adaptive behaviors. These changes led to both proximal and distal benefits for the FtF participants interviewed. The results are discussed in the context of self-help, stress-and-coping, and trauma recovery theories.