The effect of theory of mind capacities of mothers of patients with schizophrenia on the severity of the diseases

Abstract

Objective: Studies conducted with patients with schizophrenia and first-degree relatives show that, the pathology in theory of mind may be related to the risk of psychosis. The theory of mind capacities of the mothers may be effective in the prognosis of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of theory of mind capacities of patient mothers on the severity of the disease. Method: The study was conducted with 34 schizophrenic patients and their mothers, and 31 healthy mothers. Sociodemographic data was captures for all groups. In addition, PANSS was collected from patients and Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test was collected from the each patient mother. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the age and education levels of the groups. The mothers of patients with schizophrenia performed significantly worse in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test than the control group. There was an inverse correlation between theory of mind capacity and the medication dose, PANSS general condition and PANSS total score. Discussion: The significant difference between the groups suggests that the impairment in the function of the theory of mind can be regarded as an endo-phenotype for schizophrenia. The low theory of mind capacities of the mothers of schizophrenia patients can cause the mothers to misunderstand the feelings of their patient which could lead to increase in disease severity and drugs use.