Psychometric Properties of the Social Attribution Task and Its Relationship With Cognitive Functions

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Social cognitive capacity is crucial for daily functioning.
• The Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice (SAT-MC) battery is used to evaluate social cognition.
• Limited research exists on the SAT-MC's psychometric properties in clinical populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reliability and validity of the SAT-MC in healthy adults and individuals with schizophrenia.
• To explore the relationship between SAT-MC performance and clinical variables in schizophrenia.
• To establish the SAT-MC as a dependable measure of social attribution skills.

Main Methods:

• 207 participants (157 healthy, 50 schizophrenia) completed the SAT-MC, Raven Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), and Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET).
• Psychometric properties including internal consistency and test-retest reliability were analyzed.
• Hierarchical multivariate regression examined predictors of SAT-MC performance.

Main Results:

• The SAT-MC demonstrated content and criteria validity in both groups.
• Internal consistency (McDonald's omega) was 0.81; test-retest reliability was 0.75.
• RSPM and RMET scores significantly predicted SAT-MC performance.

Conclusions:

• The SAT-MC is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing social attribution skills in healthy and schizophrenia samples.
• Social attribution is linked to perceptual reasoning, abstract thinking, and theory of mind.
• Impaired social attribution in schizophrenia can contribute to social withdrawal and isolation.