Social functioning in schizophrenia

Deficits in social functioning have been noted in schizophrenia from as early as Kraeplin’s descriptions of the disorder at the turn of the 20th century. Much work has since been done to understand the nature of these deficits and their relationship with the different forms of schizophrenia.

Standard diagnostic frameworks (both ICD-10 and DSM-5) include problems in social functioning among the essential criteria for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Recently this has assumed greater importance as an outcome measure in research trials evaluating clinical interventions. Although this field has been extensively studied, the exact nature of the deficits in social functioning and their relationship with other similar constructs is not clearly established.

This module will:

• summarise the current understanding of social functioning in schizophrenia, providing opportunities to watch leading researchers in the field express their views
• consider the clinical importance of the issue when working with people with schizophrenia
• provide information on how to assess social functioning
• outline the current evidence base for interventions to improve social functioning.