Loading...
Performance-based assessment of social skills in a large sample of participants with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and healthy controls : Correlates of social competence and social appropriateness
Miller, Michelle L. Strassnig, Martin T. Bromet, Evelin Depp, Colin A. Jonas, Katherine Lin, Wenxuan Moore, Raeanne C. Patterson, Thomas L. Penn, David L. Pinkham, Amy E.
Miller, Michelle L.
Strassnig, Martin T.
Bromet, Evelin
Depp, Colin A.
Jonas, Katherine
Lin, Wenxuan
Moore, Raeanne C.
Patterson, Thomas L.
Penn, David L.
Pinkham, Amy E.
Abstract
Introduction
Performance-based assessments of social skills have detected impairments in people with severe mental illness and are correlated with functional outcomes in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The most common of these assessments, the Social Skills Performance Assessment (SSPA), has two communication scenarios and items measuring both social competence and appropriateness. As real-world competence and appropriateness appear to have different correlates, we hypothesized that SSPA Items measuring competence and appropriateness would be distinct and have different correlations with other outcomes.
Methods
We aggregated data from 557 people with schizophrenia, 106 with bipolar disorder, and 378 well controls from 4 separate research studies. All participants were assessed with both SSPA scenarios and other performance based and clinician-rated measures. A single expert rated the SSPA interactions for competence and appropriateness while blind to participant diagnoses.
Results
Participants with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia performed more poorly on every item of the SSPA than healthy controls. Items measuring social competence and appropriateness in communication were intercorrelated across scenarios, as were elements of socially competent communication, although the items measuring competence did not correlate substantially with appropriateness. Items assessing social competence, but not social appropriateness, correlated with better cognitive and functional performance and residential and financial independence.
Discussion
Social competence and social appropriateness were distinct elements of performance-based social skills with potential differences in their functional correlates. As both social competence and appropriateness impact functional outcomes, improvement in the measurement and treatment of appropriate communication seems to be an important goal.
Keywords
social functioning, social competence, cognition, funcitonal capacity
Date
2021
Type
Journal article
Journal
Schizophrenia Research
Book
Volume
236
Issue
Page Range
80-86
Article Number
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
All rights reserved
File Access
Controlled