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Cited by 36Schizophrenia research and treatmentMental Health Research TopicsMental Health and Psychiatry

Social functioning in schizophrenia: Comparing laboratory-based assessment with real-world measures

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Abel, Danielle B., Minor, Kyle S.·2021·Journal of Psychiatric Research
DOI 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.04.039PMC PMC8192459
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Abstract

Researchers have measured social functioning in schizophrenia using many different strategies. Recent technological advances have made it possible to passively measure behaviors in real-world social situations-allowing for more objective, ecologically valid assessments. Yet, research testing the convergent validity among real-world and laboratory-based social functioning assessment is sparse. The purpose of this study was to test the convergent validity among four social functioning measures: two interview-based rating scales, a self-reported ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and a passive, ambulatory ecological assessment. Data was collected from 36 people with schizophrenia and 33 control participants. Across the entire sample, relationships between interview-based ratings and real-world measures of social functioning only demonstrated small correlations (r's = 0.17-0.19), whereas real-world measures exhibited moderate correlations with one another (r = 0.36). Within groups, real-world measures showed moderate, significant relationships in the control group (r = 0.44) but not in the schizophrenia group (r = 0.27). For those with schizophrenia, the interview-based measures of social functioning were moderately associated with ambulatory ecological assessment (r's = 0.38 and 0.47), but only small associations were observed with self-reported EMA (r's = 0.15 and 0.17). Results suggest social functioning assessments are not highly convergent and likely target different aspects of social functioning. Laboratory-based measures offer global impressions of social functioning whereas real-world measures represent a more nuanced approach. Moreover, ambulatory ecological assessment may most accurately gauge frequency of daily social interactions for those with schizophrenia as it circumvents common pitfalls of self-report and offers a less-biased, in-depth evaluation of social behavior.

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  • A significant decline in social functioning has been found across all stages of psychosis, from clinical high risk, first episode of psychosis to chronic schizophrenia.

    “A significant decline in social functioning has been found across all stages of psychosis, from clinical high risk (CHR), and first episode of psychosis (FEP) to chronic schizophrenia (SZ) (Abel and Minor 2021; Addington et al. 2008; Raghavan et al. 2017)”

    From Social Functioning Interventions in Psychosis: A Systematic Review. (2025) · cites this paper as Abel and Minor 2021

    The Discussion (Laboratory Assessment versus Real-world Assessment; page unavailable) describes high social-functioning scores in controls and variation in the schizophrenia group, supporting the claim’s schizophrenia-related component. The Methods (Participants; page unavailable) studied people with schizophrenia and controls, not clinical-high-risk or first-episode groups; the paper does not establish a significant decline across psychosis stages. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Authors
Abel, D. B., & Minor, K. S.
Affiliations
Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (US)
Corresponding author
Abel, Danielle B.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Psychiatric Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-06
Volume
138
Pages
500-506
ISSN
0022-3956 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.04.039
PMC
PMC8192459
OpenAlex
W3162244102
Cited by
36
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 2
FWCI
3.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Psychiatric Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Purdue University Indianapolis (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
  • IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (KL2TR001106, UL1TR001108)
  • American Psychological Association
  • National Institutes of Health
  • American Psychological Foundation
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
Keywords
schizophrenia, social functioning, convergent validity, ecological momentary assessment, laboratory-based assessment, self-report bias, social interaction frequency
MeSH terms
Ecological Momentary Assessment, Social Interaction, Humans, Laboratories, Schizophrenia, Social Adjustment

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