Consummatory and anticipatory anhedonia in schizophrenia: Stability, and associations with emotional distress and social function over six months

Recent work has suggested that anhedonia in schizophrenia can be understood as involving two separate constructs: deficits in anticipatory and consummatory pleasure. Little is known about the relative stability of these different constructs and their links with clinical features and social function over time. To examine these questions, 51 participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in a non-acute phase of illness were administered the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and Quality of Life Scale at two time points six months apart. Results revealed that baseline scores of both anticipatory and consummatory pleasure were significantly correlated with follow-up scores six months later, suggesting each construct is stable in the short term. The association of anticipatory pleasure at baseline and six months was significantly higher than the relationship between consummatory pleasure at baseline and at six months. Anticipatory pleasure predicted concurrent and prospective levels of positive symptoms, emotional discomfort, and interpersonal function, but not emotion recognition. Consummatory pleasure predicted only concurrent positive symptoms. The link of baseline anticipatory pleasure with emotional discomfort at six months persisted even after controlling for baseline emotional discomfort. Implications for the measurement and conceptualization of anhedonia in schizophrenia are discussed.