Empathic and cognitive processing in people with schizophrenia: a study on an Italian sample.

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships among empathy processes in terms of self-report empathy evaluation and recognition of emotional cues and Theory of Mind com- ponents. We used the Empathy Quotient – short form (EQ-s), the Pictures of Facial Affect (POFA) system, a (ToM) Irony ap- preciation task and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), re- spectively. The Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were also used to investigate the relationship with symptomatology and function- ing. The sample consisted of 30 participants with diagnosis of schizophrenia. Our results found no significant correlations be- tween EQ-s and other cognitive or clinical variables. PoFA total score and recognition of fear correlated with time spent to give a correct response to the ToM irony comprehension. Time spent o correctly respond to both ToM and physical vignettes corre- lated with negative symptoms. Positive, negative and cognitive clusters of the PANSS correlated with the GAF. The relationships we found among the considered constructs suggest that em- pathic processing acts on functionality improving the personal efficiency, in terms of readiness and rapidity, to cope with one’s environment, in the multifaceted social setting. Given that emo- tion perception in particular has been connected to social com- petence, independent living and community functioning, it is conceivable that emotion processing may be a potential catalyst within the mindreading process, which can have an impact both on symptomatology and social functioning.