Schizophrenic individuals' cognitive functioning and performance in interpersonal interactions and skills training procedures

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the relationship between schizophrenic individuals' cognitive functioning and their performance in interpersonal interactions and skills training procedures. Thirty schizophrenic individuals and 15 non-mentally ill individuals were administered two versions of the Continuous Performance Test, the Span of Apprehension Test, the Digit Span Distractibility Test, the Assessment of Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills, and three elemental skills training tasks. Vigilance level as measured by the Continuous Performance Test was substantially correlated with performance in both roleplayed interactions and skills training tasks, while recall memory as measured by the Digit Span Distractibility Test was correlated with performance in the skills training tasks independently of vigilance level. Thus, the results indicated that the cognitive dysfunctions of schizophrenia are associated with poorer social functioning and with reduced performance in the elemental procedures that constitute efforts to improve that functioning.