Social cognition and interaction training (SCIT) for outpatients with schizophrenia: A preliminary study

Social functioning deficits (e.g., social skill, community functioning) are a core feature of schizophrenia. These deficits are only minimally improved via the frontline treatments for schizophrenia (e.g. medication, social skills training, cognitive-behavioral therapy). Social cognition is a promising treatment target in this regard as it may be more strongly related to social functioning outcomes than traditional neurocognitive domains [Couture, S., Penn, D.L., Roberts, D.L., 2006. The functional significance of social cognition in schizophrenia: a review. Schizophrenia Bulletin (Suppl. 1), S-44–63]. Social cognition and interaction training (SCIT) is a 20-week, manualized, group treatment designed to improve social functioning in schizophrenia by way of improved social cognition. This article reports preliminary data from a quasi-experimental study comparing SCIT + treatment as usual (TAU; n = 20) to TAU alone (n = 11) among outpatients. Results using analysis of variance (ANOVA) suggest SCIT-related improvements in emotion perception and social skill.