Relations among Social Functioning, Psychopathology and Attentional Deficits in Schizophrenic Outpatients

Kim, Chul Kwon; Jung, Sun Min; Kim, Jin Won; Kim, Sang Su; Byun, Won Tan

Abstract

In order to study the relations between attentional deficits and social functioning of the schizophrenia, 83 stable outpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenia and matched 60 normal controls were examined for their sustained attention, sensory register, and social functioning by means of Continuous performance test(CPT), Span apprehension task(SPAN), and Korean version of Social Adjustment Scale II-Revised Version(KSAS II-RV) respectively. Psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS). The results were as follows. 1) Schizophrenic patients showed a significant deficit in the sustained attention and sensory register as manifested in the data of CPT and SPAN, compared with the matched normal controls. Schizohrenic patients also showed a significantly poor social functioning in measure of KSAS II-RV compared with the matched normal controls. 2) There was no correlation between three type of symptoms(positive/negative/general) and total scores of social functioning. But negative symptoms was correlated with the social leisure subarea of KSAS II-RV. 3) CPT was correlated with total scores of social functioning including the instrumental role and friend relation subareas of KSAS II-RV, whereas SPAN was only correlated with the instrumental role subarea of social functioning. 4) In the relations between attention and symptoms, CPT was correlated with negative symptoms. These results suggest that the deficit of the sustained attention may be a predictive factor of social functioning in the schizophrenic outpatients.