Abstract
BackgroundResearch has indicated that stable individual differences in personality exist among persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders predating illness onset that are linked to symptoms and self appraised quality of life. Less is known about how closely individual differences in personality are uniquely related to levels of social relationships, a domain of dysfunction in schizophrenia more often linked in the literature with symptoms and neurocognitive deficits. This study tested the hypothesis that trait levels of personality as defined using the five-factor model of personality would be linked to social function in schizophrenia.MethodsA self-report measure of the five factor model of personality was gathered along with ratings of social function, symptoms and assessments of neurocognition for 65 participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.ResultsUnivariate correlations and stepwise multiple regression indicated that frequency of social interaction was predicted by higher levels of the trait of Agreeableness, fewer negative symptoms, better verbal memory and at the trend level, lesser Neuroticism (R2 = .42, p < .0001). In contrast, capacity for intimacy was predicted by fewer negative symptoms, higher levels of Agreeableness, Openness, and Conscientiousness and at the trend level, fewer positive symptoms (R2 = .67, p < .0001).ConclusionsTaken together, the findings of this study suggest that person-centered variables such as personality, may account for some of the broad differences seen in outcome in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, including social outcomes. One interpretation of the results of this study is that differences in personality combine with symptoms and neurocognitive deficits to affect how persons with schizophrenia are able to form and sustain social connections with others.
Highlights
Research has indicated that stable individual differences in personality exist among persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders predating illness onset that are linked to symptoms and self appraised quality of life
One model of personality that has shown some promise in helping to systematically document the types of individual differences that help or hinder outcome in schizophrenia, is the "Five factor" model [12]. This model posits five endogenous traits [13] along which all persons vary, regardless of their socioeconomic status or culture and which exert an enduring impact on behavior, affect and cognition across the lifespan [14]. These five dimensions are Neuroticism, or vulnerability to emotional instability and self-consciousness, Extraversion, or the tendency to be warm and outgoing; Openness, or the cognitive disposition to creativity and aesthetics; Agreeableness, or the tendency to be comfortable with social interactions, and Conscientiousness, or the tendency towards dutifulness and competence [12,15]
Beyond its intuitive appeal as a model for understanding individual differences in schizophrenia, research has suggested that the traits of the five factor model can be detected in schizophrenia [16] and that, as in the general population, these traits are relatively stable over time [17]
Summary
Research has indicated that stable individual differences in personality exist among persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders predating illness onset that are linked to symptoms and self appraised quality of life. One model of personality that has shown some promise in helping to systematically document the types of individual differences that help or hinder outcome in schizophrenia, is the "Five factor" model [12] This model posits five endogenous traits [13] along which all persons vary, regardless of their socioeconomic status or culture and which exert an enduring impact on behavior, affect and cognition across the lifespan [14]. These five dimensions are Neuroticism, or vulnerability to emotional instability and self-consciousness, Extraversion, or the tendency to be warm and outgoing; Openness, or the cognitive disposition to creativity and aesthetics; Agreeableness, or the tendency to be comfortable with social interactions, and Conscientiousness, or the tendency towards dutifulness and competence [12,15]. Other assessments using competing models of temperament and character have found personality variables linked with patterns of substance abuse [26] and lesser levels of quality of life [27,28,29]
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