Distress intolerance and clinical functioning in persons with schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Impaired distress tolerance is implicated in schizophrenia's cognitive and functional deficits.
• Understanding distress intolerance is crucial for schizophrenia research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate distress intolerance in schizophrenia (SZ) patients compared to controls.
• To determine if distress intolerance is an independent factor related to symptoms, cognition, and function in SZ.

Main Methods:

• A psychological distress challenge experiment was conducted with 65 SZ patients and 43 healthy controls.
• Distress intolerance levels were assessed by observing participants' ability to complete the challenge.

Main Results:

• Schizophrenia patients exhibited significantly higher distress intolerance, terminating the challenge earlier than controls.
• Increased distress intolerance correlated with poorer cognitive performance and reduced functional capacity in SZ patients.
• Mediation analysis indicated distress intolerance independently affects functional capacity, partly through cognitive performance.

Conclusions:

• Distress intolerance is a significant domain for therapeutic intervention in schizophrenia.
• Improving distress tolerance may enhance functional capacity in individuals with schizophrenia.