Affect recognition in deficit syndrome schizophrenia

This study has three aims: (1) to compare a deficit syndrome schizophrenia sample (n=19) with a non-deficit sample (n=50) on affect recognition; (2) to determine the association between individual deficit criteria and affect recognition performance in the deficit sample; and (3) to compare the deficit syndrome and negative syndrome samples with respect to affect recognition test performance. Results revealed that the deficit sample had significantly lower adjusted mean affect recognition scores than the non-deficit sample. In addition, 17 of the 19 subjects with deficit syndrome had impairments in affect recognition, whereas, non-deficit subjects were only slightly more likely to score in the impaired range than the unimpaired range. Within the deficit sample Diminished Sense of Purpose was the criterion most strongly associated with affect recognition impairment. Finally, a group of subjects classified as having prominent negative symptoms did not demonstrate the same pattern of impairment as shown by the deficit syndrome sample. The relationship between affect recognition, information processing and the deficit syndrome is discussed along with implications for classification in schizophrenia.