Relationship Between Illness Duration and Social Cognitive Abilities in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

Background: Social cognition can be defined as the ability to perceive and interpret others' thoughts, intentions, and behaviors. It is known that there are deficiencies in social cognitive skills in schizophrenia. This study aims to evaluate the social cognitive skills of schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients from the very early stages using theory of mind and emotion identification/discrimination tests and to examine the changes in these skills during schizophrenia. Methods: Seventy-nine patients who met the schizophrenia criteria according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 , except for duration, and were diagnosed with schizophrenia were divided into 3 groups according to the duration of illness: less than 6 months (n = 18), 6-24 months (n= 35), and more than 24 months (n = 26). The participants were administered the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF), the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), and the Facial Identification and Discrimination Tests (FEIT and FEDT), and the test scores were compared between the 3 groups. Results: There was no significant difference between the groups regarding PANSS, GAF and RMET, FEIT, and FEDT scores (P > .05). There was also no significant relationship between the illness duration and RMET, FEIT, and FEDT scores (P > .05). Conclusion: There was no significant relationship between disease duration and social cognitive skills in schizophrenia spectrum disorder patients. This finding suggests that social cognitive deficits may be a trait marker of schizophrenia.