Interpersonal distance in schizophrenia: A systematic review

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Schizophrenia significantly impairs social functioning, leading to isolation and loneliness.
• Interpersonal distance, the physical space during social interaction, is a key indicator of social difficulties.
• Understanding interpersonal distance regulation in schizophrenia offers insights into social deficits.

Approach:

• A systematic review of empirical studies was conducted.
• Searches were performed in Web of Science and PubMed databases.
• 14 studies involving 1145 participants (668 with schizophrenia) were included.

Key Points:

• Patients with schizophrenia consistently maintain larger interpersonal distances than controls.
• Greater interpersonal distance is associated with more severe positive and negative symptoms.
• Increased dorsal inferior parietal sulcus activity/connectivity and stress may underlie this distancing behavior.

Conclusions:

• Aberrant interpersonal distance modulation is evident in schizophrenia.
• Heterogeneity exists in methods for measuring interpersonal distance.
• Future research should explore links to social functioning, neurobiology, and neuroendocrinal regulation.