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Negative symptoms and social skills performance in schizophrenia
H J Jackson1, I H Minas, P M Burgess
1National Health and Medical Research Council Schizophrenia Research Unit, Royal Park Hospital, Parkville, Australia.
Abstract:
The present study aimed to determine whether the negative symptoms of patients with schizophrenia were better predictors of social competence than a range of other variables pertaining to demographics, illness, hospitalization, and premorbid functioning. Independent raters assessed social skills performance on a video-taped role-play test and 5 min conversation in 53 inpatients with a DSM-III diagnosis of schizophrenia. Patients' social skills were also assessed by ward nurses. Project clinicians assessed depression, medication side effects and positive and negative symptoms. Multiple-regression analyses demonstrated that, generally, negative symptoms were the best predictors of social skills performance.