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. 2021 Dec 1;7(1):57.
doi: 10.1038/s41537-021-00188-7.

The effect of sex on social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia

Marta Ferrer-Quintero  1   2   3 , Michael F Green  4   5 , William P Horan  6 , David L Penn  7   8 , Robert S Kern  4   5 , Junghee Lee  9   10
Affiliations

The effect of sex on social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia

Marta Ferrer-Quintero et al. NPJ Schizophr. .

Abstract

Social cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and plays a critical role in poor community functioning in the disorder. However, our understanding of the relationship between key biological variables and social cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is limited. This study examined the effect of sex on the levels of social cognitive impairment and the relationship between social cognitive impairment and social functioning in schizophrenia. Two hundred forty-eight patients with schizophrenia (61 female) and 87 healthy controls (31 female) completed five objective measures and one subjective measure of social cognition. The objective measures included the Facial Affect Identification, Emotion in Biological Motion, Self-Referential Memory, MSCEIT Branch 4, and Empathic Accuracy tasks. The subjective measure was the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which includes four subscales. Patients completed measures of social and non-social functional capacity and community functioning. For objective social cognitive tasks, we found a significant sex difference only on one measure, the MSCEIT Branch 4, which in both patient and control groups, females performed better than males. Regarding the IRI, females endorsed higher empathy-related items on one subscale. The moderating role of sex was found only for the association between objective social cognition and non-social functional capacity. The relationship was stronger in male patients than female patients. In this study, we found minimal evidence of a sex effect on social cognition in schizophrenia across subjective and objective measures. Sex does not appear to moderate the association between social cognition and functioning in schizophrenia.

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Conflict of interest statement

M.F.G. has been a paid consultant for Biogen, Click Therapeutics, Otsuka, and was a member of the Scientific Board of Cadent. M.F.G. is also an officer in a non-profit organization, MATRICS Assessment, Inc., but receives no financial compensation. W.P.H. is a full-time employee of VeraSci. The remaining authors have no disclosures.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Performance of patients and controls on objective social cognitive tasks.
A Facial affect recognition, B Emotion in biological motion, C Empathic accuracy, D Self-referential memory, and E MSCEIT branch 4. Error bars indicate 95% confidence interval. MSCEIT the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test 2.0.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Performance of patients and controls on the subjective social cognitive measure.
A IRI fantasy, B IRI empathic concern, C IRI perspective taking, D IRI personal distress, and E IRI Total. Error bars indicate 95% confidence interval. IRI the Interpersonal Responsivity Index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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