Gender, cognitive, social functioning, social cognition and social skills in schizotypal personality disorder of general population

Abstract

Objective: The present study aims to explore the deficit of cognitive, social functioning, social cognition and social skill with the SPD of general population. Additionally, the relationship between social functioning and rejection sensitivity is also investigated. Furthermore, this paper wants to explore how social functioning and rejection sensitivity can predict the score in the SPQ so as to build up the indirect relationship between SPQ score and rejection sensitivity. Lastly, gender effect on cognitive and social functioning will also be explored. To our knowledge, the present study is the first study using Hong Kong Cantonese version questionnaires to assess the impairment in cognitive, social functioning and social skills in general population. Method: 213 university students completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), the Sensitivity to Rejection Scale (SRS), the Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS), the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), the Brief Visuo-spatial Memory Test (BVMT), the self-description game, the Social Skill Inventory (SSI) and the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ). Results: In the present study, most measures can not find the deficits in cognitive functioning when comparing high SPQ group with low SPQ group. In social cognition, part of it can find there had the significant difference between high SPQ group and low SPQ group. The result shows that there is significantly positive correlation between RSQ and SRS. For RSQ, it was negative significantly correlated to SASS. Linear regressions indicated that RSQ and SASS could predict the score in SPQ. In SRS, it was negative significantly correlated to SASS. Linear regressions indicated SASS and SRS could predict the score in SPQ. However, the present study can not find there have the gender by SPQ classification interaction effect on cognitive, social functioning, social cognition as well as social skills. Conclusion: The present study can’t find high SPQ group having the cognitive deficit when comparing with low SPQ group, but it can find that there was the social skill and social functioning deficits in high SPQ group when comparing with low SPQ group. It also establishes a new way to look for the score in SPQ which is the rejection sensitivity. However, the present study can not find the gender difference on cognitive, social functioning, social cognition and social skills in high SPQ group when comparing with low SPQ group.