Age-Related Social Cognitive Performance in Individuals With Psychotic Disorders and Their First-Degree Relatives

Abstract

Background: Social cognitive impairment is a recognized feature of psychotic disorders. However, potential age-related differences in social cognitive impairment have rarely been studied. Study Design: Data came from 905 individuals with a psychotic disorder, 966 unaffected siblings, and 544 never-psychotic controls aged 18-55 who participated in the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis (GROUP) study. Multilevel linear models were fitted to study group main effects and the interaction between group and age on emotion perception and processing (EPP; degraded facial affect recognition) and theory of mind (ToM; hinting task) performance. Age-related differences in the association between socio-demographic and clinical factors, and EPP and ToM were also explored. Study Results: Across groups, EPP performance was associated with age (β = -0.02, z = -7.60, 95% CI: -0.02, -0.01, P