Problem-Solving Skills and Sending Skills in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenia is characterized by pervasive impairments of social skills. Thus, social skills training is thought to be an effective treatment to promote psychiatric rehabilitation. The present report reviewed our previous studies about components of social skills, factors influencing social skills, and predicting power of social skills over social functioning. A Japanese version of structured role-play test was devised, and by using the test we found three components of social skills in factor analysis: sending skills and social validity, problem-solving skills and goal attainment, and self-efficacy. Sending skills were at least partially based on early information-processing deficiency. Problem-solving skills were not directly related to elementary cognitive function (“molecular” stage of information processing), but might be based on more complex neuropsychological function and reflected by other factors, such as social learning. An association between some aspects of insight (compliance with treatment and recognition of mental illness) and sending skills was found, which might be mediated by neurocognitive deficits. Both sending skills and problem-solving skills contributed to global social functioning for almost five years. Improvement of problem-solving skills was achieved by 20 h of social skills training. Sending skills were strongly associated with negative symptoms in correlational analysis, and we thought that more time would be needed to improve them.