A Prayer for Lack of You

When I was a child I feared all the Old Testament curses—dogs, frogs, being struck down by forked lightning? Which were Old Testament curses and which were the talk of the traveling preachers in their white suits and black slickback hair? Either way, it doesn\u27t matter. One was You and the other was You. You let anyone who wants to speak for You speak for You, so what is left for the children of the world to do but see You in the ones who speak for You? If You are You, shame on You, for sparing those who speak for You the dogs, the frogs, the forked lightning.https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/onearth/1031/thumbnail.jp

Using Lexical Analysis to Link Depression in Schizotypy

poster abstractIntroduction: Previous research has suggested that depression is a major symptom of schizophrenia, and, moreover, schizotypy. Speech has also been heavily studied within the schizophrenia-spectrum. Compared to healthy populations, those with schizotypy tend to show greater depression and use negative affect (emotion) words more frequently. Speech containing negative affect words has also been shown to correlate with depression in both the healthy population and the schizophrenia-spectrum. This study aimed to examine any differences in depression level and negative affect words between a schizotypy and control sample, and also if depression level can be linked to speech within schizotypy. Methods: 38 participants partook in an open-ended, semi-structured interview-25 making up the schizotypy group, and 13 in the non-schizotypy group. The interview was recorded, transcribed, and ran through Lexical Inquiry Word Count (LIWC), a computerized measure that evaluates speech content using a dictionary that contains over 4500 words/word stems across 68 categories. Participants were also administered two depression questionnaires. Results: The schizotypy sample showed significantly greater depression than controls (p.05, d= -.54).Within schizotypy, a trend level relationship between depression and negative affect words was observed (r= -.31, p>.05). Conclusion: These findings are consistent with previous studies reporting higher depression levels in the schizophrenia-spectrum compared to healthy populations. It is inconsistent, however, with regards to schizotypy and use of negative emotion words, which may be due in part to low power. Furthermore, this study shows that lexical analysis software has the potential to assist in the measurement of depression in schizotypy

Metacognitive self-reflectivity moderates the relationship between distress tolerance and empathy in schizophrenia

Deficits in empathy seen in schizophrenia are thought to play a major role in the social dysfunction seen in the disorder. However, little work has investigated potential determinants of empathic deficits. This study aimed to fill that gap by examining the effects of two variables on empathy – distress tolerance and metacognitive self-reflectivity. Fifty-four people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders receiving services at an urban VA or community mental health center were assessed for empathy, metacognition, and distress tolerance. Bivariate correlations and moderation methods were used to ascertain associations amongst these variables and examine interactions. Results revealed that, against hypotheses, empathy was not related at the bivariate level to either distress tolerance or metacognitive self-reflectivity. However, consistent with hypotheses, moderation analyses revealed that participants with higher self-reflectivity showed no relationship between distress tolerance and empathy, while those with lower self-reflectivity showed a relationship such that reduced ability to tolerate distress predicted reduced empathy. Taken together, results of this study suggest that lack of distress tolerance can negatively affect empathy in people with schizophrenia with lesser capacity for metacognitive self-reflection; thus, fostering self-reflectivity may help overcome that negative impact. Future work is needed investigating the impact of metacognitively-tailored interventions on empathy in this population

Is Cognitive Performance Affecting Your Social Life? Cognitive Performance and its Relation to Social Functioning in Psychometric Schizotypy

poster abstractInterpreting cues and appropriately performing in social situations are two skills that are crucial for an individual to function in a modern society. Assessing social functioning and social cognition are used to measure these abilities in first-episode and schizophrenia research. The current study addresses the relationship between social cognition, neurocognition, and social functioning in participants with psychometric schizotypy; a cluster of traits thought to denote increased risk of developing psychosis. Undergraduate students pre-screened for schizotypy were tested for social cognitive and neurocognitive deficits, and lower social functioning. Significant positive correlations were observed between sub-tests of neurocognition and the social cognition measures. The current study shows that there are some subareas of neurocognition that are more closely related to social cognition than others. Independent T-tests reveal that individuals with psychometric schizotypy exhibit lower social functioning. Also, within the schizotypy group, participants report lower social functioning, including in their ability to create and maintain romantic relationships. Future research on this topic could try to find further explanations for social functioning deficits, as they do not appear to be explained by problems with social cognition

Metacognitive function and fragmentation in schizophrenia: Relationship to cognition, self-experience and developing treatments

Bleuler suggested that fragmentation of thought, emotion and volition were the unifying feature of the disorders he termed schizophrenia. In this paper we review research seeking to measure some of the aspects of fragmentation related to the experience of the self and others described by Bleuler. We focus on work which uses the concept of metacognition to characterize and quantify alterations or decrements in the processes by which fragments or pieces of information are integrated into a coherent sense of self and others. We describe the rationale and support for one method for quantifying metacognition and its potential to study the fragmentation of a person\u27s sense of themselves, others and the relative place of themselves and others in the larger human community. We summarize research using that method which suggests that deficits in metacognition commonly occur in schizophrenia and are related to basic neurobiological indices of brain functioning. We also present findings indicating that the capacity for metacognition in schizophrenia is positively related to a broad range of aspects of psychological and social functioning when measured concurrently and prospectively. Finally, we discuss the evolution and study of one therapy that targets metacognitive capacity, Metacognitive Reflection and Insight Therapy (MERIT) and its potential to treat fragmentation and promote recovery

Stigma resistance at the personal, peer, and public levels: A new conceptual model.

Stigma resistance is consistently linked with key recovery outcomes, yet theoretical work is limited. This study explored stigma resistance from the perspective of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). Twenty-four individuals with SMI who were either peer-service providers (those with lived experience providing services; N = 14) or consumers of mental health services (N = 10) engaged in semistructured interviews regarding experiences with stigma, self-stigma, and stigma resistance, including key elements of this process and examples of situations in which they resisted stigma. Stigma resistance is an ongoing, active process that involves using one’s experiences, knowledge, and sets of skills at the (1) personal, (2) peer, and (3) public levels. Stigma resistance at the personal level involves (a) not believing stigma or catching and challenging stigmatizing thoughts, (b) empowering oneself by learning about mental health and recovery, (c) maintaining one’s recovery and proving stigma wrong, and (d) developing a meaningful identity apart from mental illness. Stigma resistance at the peer level involves using one’s experiences to help others fight stigma and at the public level, resistance involved (a) education, (b) challenging stigma, (c) disclosing one’s lived experience, and (d) advocacy work. Findings present a more nuanced conceptualization of resisting stigma, grounded in the experiences of people with SMI. Stigma resistance is an ongoing, active process of using one’s experiences, skills, and knowledge to develop a positive identity. Interventions should consider focusing on personal stigma resistance early on and increasing the incorporation of peers into services

The four-factor conceptualization of empathy in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis

Empathy is a complex construct, thought to contain multiple components. One popular measurement paradigm, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), has been used extensively to measure empathic tendencies in schizophrenia research across four domains: empathic concern, perspective-taking, personal distress, and fantasy. However, no recent meta-analysis has been conducted for all four factors of this scale. The goal of this meta-analysis was to examine self-reported empathic tendencies for each factor of the IRI in people with schizophrenia as compared to healthy controls. A literature search revealed 32 eligible schizophrenia studies. The Hedges’ g standardized difference effect size was calculated for each component using a random effects meta-analytic model. Compared to healthy controls, schizophrenia samples reported significantly reduced tendencies for empathic concern, perspective-taking, and fantasy, but significantly greater tendencies for personal distress. Duration of illness significantly moderated the results for perspective-taking such that those with a longer duration exhibited greater deficits; percent female significantly moderated the results for personal distress such that samples with more females exhibited reduced effect sizes. Future work is needed to examine the impact of heightened personal distress on the empathic tendencies and abilities of those with schizophrenia, including the possible role of emotion regulation

The effect of limited cognitive resources on communication disturbances in serious mental illness

Semantically incoherent speech is a pernicious clinical feature of serious mental illness (SMI). The precise mechanisms underlying this deficit remain unclear. Prior studies have found that arousal of negative emotion exaggerates the severity of these communication disturbances; this has been coined "affective reactivity". Recent research suggests that "cognitive reactivity" may also occur, namely reflecting reduced "on-line" cognitive resources in SMI. We tested the hypothesis that communication disturbances manifest as a function of limited cognitive resources in SMI above and beyond that associated with state affectivity. We also investigated individual differences in symptoms, cognitive ability, and trait affect that may be related to cognitive reactivity. We compared individuals with SMI (n=52) to nonpsychiatric controls (n=27) on a behavioral-based coding of communication disturbances during separate baseline and experimentally-manipulated high cognitive-load dual tasks. Controlling for state affective reactivity, a significant interaction was observed such that communication disturbances decreased in the SMI group under high cognitive-load. Furthermore, a reduction in communication disturbances was related to lower trait and state positive affectivity in the SMI group. Contrary to our expectations, limited cognitive resources temporarily relieved language dysfunction. Implications, particularly with respect to interventions, are discussed

Category fluency in psychometric schizotypy: How altering emotional valence and cognitive load affects performance

Introduction. In clinical high-risk populations, category fluency deficits are associated with conversion to psychosis. However, their utility as clinical risk markers is unclear in psychometric schizotypy, a group experiencing schizophrenia-like traits that is at putative high risk for psychosis. Methods. We examined whether introducing affective or cognitive load, two important stress vulnerability markers, altered category fluency performance in schizotypy (n = 42) and non-schizotypy (n = 38) groups. To investigate this question, we developed an experimental paradigm where all participants were administered category fluency tests across baseline, pleasant valence, unpleasant valence, and cognitive load conditions. Results. Compared to the non-schizotypy group, those with schizotypy performed significantly worse in pleasant and unpleasant valence conditions, but not cognitive load or baseline fluency tests. Conclusions. This study demonstrated the role of affect – but not cognitive load – on category fluency in psychometric schizotypy, as group differences only emerged once affective load was introduced. One explanation for this finding is that semantic memory may be unimpaired under normal conditions in psychometric schizotypy, but may be compromised once affective load is presented. Future studies should examine whether fluency deficits – particularly when affect is induced – predict future conversion to psychosis in psychometric schizotypy cohorts