Real-Life Functioning in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome in Relation to Neurocognitive Abilities and Psychotic Symptoms: A Comparison With Idiopathic Schizophrenia.
Tommaso Accinni, Marianna Frascarelli, Pierluigi Cordellieri and 11 others
PMID 39614621WHAT IT FOUND
Adults with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and psychosis have similar social functioning to those with idiopathic schizophrenia.
Negative symptoms, specifically asociality, predicted poor interpersonal relationships regardless of genetic cause, suggesting social rehabilitation should target these symptoms directly.
Key findings
01Patients with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome and psychosis did not differ from those with idiopathic schizophrenia in interpersonal relationships or social acceptability.
02In patients with psychosis, negative symptoms measured by the Brief Negative Symptom Scale were the only significant predictor of interpersonal relationship scores.
03Asociality specifically predicted poorer interpersonal functioning in patients with psychosis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size for the 22q11.2 deletion groups was small due to the rarity of the syndrome. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine how functioning changes over time or the direction of causality between symptoms and social outcomes. The 22q11.2 deletion group without psychosis was heterogeneous, including individuals with subthreshold symptoms or clinical high risk, which were not specifically measured. The Attention/Vigilance domain of the cognitive battery was excluded from the composite score because many participants with the deletion could not complete it.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that cognitive remediation alone will improve social functioning. The study found that negative symptoms, particularly asociality, were the significant predictors of interpersonal relationships, while general cognitive scores did not predict these social outcomes in the regression models.