Empathy, social cognition and perceived quality of life in schizophrenia

Abstract

Background. People diagnosed with schizophrenia present empathy deficits that have been related to their poor psychosocial functioning. The objectives were: 1) analyse the relation between empathy, social cognition and quality of life in subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders; 2) evaluate these variables according to the severity of the features. Methods. Forty-one patients, divided into two groups according to the level of severity, were included. A battery of tests was applied: Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), GEOPTE scale of social cognition for psychosis, World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment: Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and Negative Symptoms (SANS). Results. There was a direct relationship between personal anxiety and fantasy sub-scales of the IRI and the GEOPTE scale, and an inverse relationship with several dimensions of quality of life of the WHOQOL-BREF. The GEOPTE scale had an inverse relation with all the dimensions of quality of life evaluated. The mildly sick group obtained scores that were significantly lower in fantasy (15.44 vs. 20.12; p=0.001) and significantly higher in psychological health (58.63 vs. 45.40; p=0.017) and environment (67.00 vs. 53.68; p=0.006). Conclusions. A relationship is found between empathy, social condition and perceived quality of life in people diagnosed with schizophrenia on programs of psycho-social rehabilitation. Similarly, the existence of relevant differences in these variables according to the level of severity of the clinical features is underscored.