Profiles of self-evaluation as a metacognitive skill: An indicator of rehabilitation potential among people with schizophrenia.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify subgroups of people with schizophrenia on the basis of self-assessment accuracy (metacognition) and examine group differences in rehabilitation potential. Participants were 51 individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders recruited from community mental health centers. Data from a self-report measure of cognition and a neuropsychological battery were compared and utilized to place participants in 3 accuracy groups: overestimators, accurate estimators, and underestimators. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare performance between accuracy groups on an index of rehabilitation potential. Three distinct profiles of metacognitive ability were identified. The analysis found that participants who underestimated their cognitive functioning had the highest scores on an index of rehabilitation potential (learning potential), and those who overestimated their functioning had the lowest. No significant differences in diagnostic or sociodemographic variables were found among accuracy groups. Results suggest that there are differences in the way people with schizophrenia evaluate their cognition and, further, these metacognitive profiles are associated with differences in the ability to learn new tasks quickly. Thus, identifying subgroups of individuals based on metacognitive processing may help identify those most likely to benefit from cognitive remediation and other rehabilitative therapies. Future research should explore the link between metacognitive ability and rehabilitation potential in greater detail. Future investigations should also clarify the implications that underestimation of ability has for overall recovery and quality of life in people with schizophrenia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).