Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T04:44:00.303Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is Emotional Intelligence Impaired in Unaffected Siblings of Patients with Schizophrenia?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2017

Beatrice Frajo-Apor*
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Division of Psychiatry I, Innsbruck, Austria
Georg Kemmler
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Division of Psychiatry I, Innsbruck, Austria
Silvia Pardeller
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Division of Psychiatry I, Innsbruck, Austria
Markus Huber
Affiliation:
General Hospital Brunico, Department of Psychiatry, Brunico, Italy
Christian Macina
Affiliation:
General Hospital Brunico, Department of Psychiatry, Brunico, Italy
Anna-Sophia Welte
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Division of Psychiatry I, Innsbruck, Austria
Alex Hofer
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Division of Psychiatry I, Innsbruck, Austria
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Beatrice Frajo-Apor, Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Anichstr. 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Objectives: Social cognitive deficits have been discussed to be endophenotypes for schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. The current study aimed to assess emotional intelligence (EI) in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients to investigate its potential role as endophenotype for schizophrenia. Methods: EI was measured in 56 schizophrenia patients, 57 unaffected siblings, and 127 healthy control subjects by using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). In addition, non-social cognition was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Linear mixed models with compound symmetric correlation structure were used for of the three groups with respect to EI and non-social cognition. Results: Schizophrenia patients showed significantly lower overall EI and performed significantly worse in three out of four MSCEIT branches compared to unaffected siblings and control subjects, whereas the two latter groups had comparable EI levels. Similar performance patterns (patients<unaffected siblings=control subjects) were found with respect to non-social cognition. Solely in the “Tower of London” test, siblings achieved significantly lower task scores compared to control subjects. Conclusions: Based on our results, EI as measured with the MSCEIT does not seem to represent a marker of risk for schizophrenia. Further investigations should concentrate on other EI measures to reassess this finding. (JINS, 2017, 23, 577–583)

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Albacete, A., Bosque, C., Custal, N., Crespo, J.M., Gilabert, E., Albiach, A., & Contreras, F. (2016). Emotional intelligence in non-psychotic first-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 175, 103108. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.04.039 Google Scholar
Allen, A.J., Griss, M.E., Folley, B.S., Hawkins, K.A., & Pearlson, G.D. (2009). Endophenotypes in schizophrenia: A selective review. Schizophrenia Research, 109(1-3), 2437. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2009.01.016 Google Scholar
Allott, K.A., Rice, S., Bartholomeusz, C.F., Klier, C., Schlogelhofer, M., Schafer, M.R., &Amminger, G.P. (2015). Emotion recognition in unaffected first-degree relatives of individuals with first-episode schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 161(2-3), 322328. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.12.010 Google Scholar
August, S.M., Kiwanuka, J.N., McMahon, R.P., & Gold, J.M. (2012). The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB): Clinical and cognitive correlates. Schizophrenia Research, 134(1), 7682. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.10.015 Google Scholar
Baas, D., van’t Wout, M., Aleman, A., & Kahn, R.S. (2008). Social judgement in clinically stable patients with schizophrenia and healthy relatives: Behavioural evidence of social brain dysfunction. Psychological Medicine, 38(5), 747754. doi: 10.1017/s0033291707001729 Google Scholar
Bediou, B., Asri, F., Brunelin, J., Krolak-Salmon, P., D’Amato, T., Saoud, M., & Tazi, I. (2007). Emotion recognition and genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 191, 126130. doi: 191/2/126 [pii]10.1192/bjp.bp.106.028829 Google Scholar
Birkett, P., Sigmundsson, T., Sharma, T., Toulopoulou, T., Griffiths, T.D., Reveley, A., & Murray, R. (2008). Executive function and genetic predisposition to schizophrenia--The Maudsley family study. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 147(3), 285293. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.30594 Google Scholar
Brackett, M.A., & Salovey, P. (2006). Measuring emotional intelligence with the Mayer-Salovery-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). Psicothema, 18(Suppl), 3441.Google Scholar
Braff, D.L. (2015). The importance of endophenotypes in schizophrenia research. Schizophrenia Research, 163(1-3), 18. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.02.007 Google Scholar
Brody, N. (2004). What cognitive intelligence is and what emotional intelligence is not. Psychological Inquiry, 15(3), 234238. doi: 10.1207/s15327965pli1503_03 Google Scholar
Dawson, S., Kettler, L., Burton, C., & Galletly, C. (2012). Do people with schizophrenia lack emotional intelligence? Schizophr Res Treatment, 2012, 495174. doi: 10.1155/2012/495174 Google Scholar
Eack, S.M., Greeno, C.G., Pogue-Geile, M.F., Newhill, C.E., Hogarty, G.E., & Keshavan, M.S. (2010). Assessing social-cognitive deficits in schizophrenia with the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 36(2), 370380. doi: sbn091 [pii]10.1093/schbul/sbn091 Google Scholar
Fett, A.K., & Maat, A. (2013). Social cognitive impairments and psychotic symptoms: What is the nature of their association? Schizophrenia Bulletin, 39(1), 7785. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbr058 Google Scholar
Fiori, M., Antonietti, J.P., Mikolajczak, M., Luminet, O., Hansenne, M., & Rossier, J. (2014). What is the Ability Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) good for? An evaluation using item response theory. PLoS One, 9(6), e98827. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098827 Google Scholar
Frajo-Apor, B., Kemmler, G., Pardeller, S., Plass, T., Muehlbacher, M., Welte, A.S., & Hofer, A. (2017). Emotional intelligence and non-social cognition in schizophrenia and bipolar-I-disorder. Psychological Medicine, 47, 3542.Google Scholar
Frajo-Apor, B., Pardeller, S., Kemmler, G., Welte, A.S., & Hofer, A. (2016). Emotional Intelligence deficits in schizophrenia: The impact of non-social cognition. Schizophrenia Research, 172, 131136. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.02.027 Google Scholar
Goghari, V.M., Macdonald, A.W. III, & Sponheim, S.R. (2011). Temporal lobe structures and facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia patients and nonpsychotic relatives. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 37(6), 12811294. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbq046 Google Scholar
Gottesman, I.I., & Gould, T.D. (2003). The endophenotype concept in psychiatry: Etymology and strategic intentions. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(4), 636645. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.160.4.636 Google Scholar
Green, M.F., Bearden, C.E., Cannon, T.D., Fiske, A.P., Hellemann, G.S., Horan, W.P., & Nuechterlein, K.H. (2012). Social cognition in schizophrenia, part 1: Performance across phase of illness. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38, 854864. doi: sbq171 [pii]10.1093/schbul/sbq171 Google Scholar
Habel, U., Klein, M., Shah, N.J., Toni, I., Zilles, K., Falkai, P., & Schneider, F. (2004). Genetic load on amygdala hypofunction during sadness in nonaffected brothers of schizophrenia patients. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(10), 18061813. doi: 161/10/1806 [pii]10.1176/appi.ajp.161.10.1806 Google Scholar
Heinrichs, R.W., & Zakzanis, K.K. (1998). Neurocognitive deficit in schizophrenia: A quantitative review of the evidence. Neuropsychology, 12(3), 426445.Google Scholar
Ho, K.K., Lui, S.S., Hung, K.S., Wang, Y., Li, Z., Cheung, E.F., & Chan, R.C. (2015). Theory of mind impairments in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and their unaffected siblings. Schizophrenia Research, 166(1-3), 18. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.05.033 Google Scholar
Horan, W.P., Green, M.F., Degroot, M., Fiske, A., Hellemann, G., Kee, K., & Nuechterlein, K.H. (2012). Social cognition in schizophrenia, part 2: 12-month stability and prediction of functional outcome in first-episode patients. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38, 865872. doi: sbr001 [pii]10.1093/schbul/sbr001 Google Scholar
Kalkstein, S., Hurford, I., & Gur, R.C. (2010). Neurocognition in schizophrenia. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 4, 373390.Google Scholar
Kay, S.R., Fiszbein, A., & Opler, L.A. (1987). The positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 13(2), 261276.Google Scholar
Kee, K.S., Horan, W.P., Mintz, J., & Green, M.F. (2004). Do the siblings of schizophrenia patients demonstrate affect perception deficits? Schizophrenia Research, 67(1), 8794. doi: S0920996403002172 [pii] Google Scholar
Kee, K.S., Horan, W.P., Salovey, P., Kern, R.S., Sergi, M.J., Fiske, A.P., & Green, M.F. (2009). Emotional intelligence in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 107(1), 6168. doi: S0920-9964(08)00348-4 [pii]10.1016/j.schres.2008.08.016 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keefe, R.S., Goldberg, T.E., Harvey, P.D., Gold, J.M., Poe, M.P., & Coughenour, L. (2004). The brief assessment of cognition in schizophrenia: Reliability, sensitivity, and comparison with a standard neurocognitive battery. Schizophrenia Research, 68(2-3), 283297. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2003.09.011 Google Scholar
Lavoie, M.A., Plana, I., Bedard Lacroix, J., Godmaire-Duhaime, F., Jackson, P.L., & Achim, A.M. (2013). Social cognition in first-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia: A meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 209(2), 129135. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.11.037 Google Scholar
Leppänen, J.M., Niehaus, D.J., Koen, L., Du Toit, E., Schoeman, R., & Emsley, R. (2008). Deficits in facial affect recognition in unaffected siblings of Xhosa schizophrenia patients: Evidence for a neurocognitive endophenotype. Schizophrenia Research, 99(1-3), 270273. doi: S0920-9964(07)00510-5 [pii]10.1016/j.schres.2007.11.003 Google Scholar
Levin, J.R., Serlin, R.C., & Seaman, M.A. (1994). A controlled, powerful multiple-comparison strategy for several situations. Psychological Bulletin, 115(1), 153159.Google Scholar
Li, H.J., Chan, R.C., Gong, Q.Y., Liu, Y., Liu, S.M., Shum, D., & Ma, Z.L. (2012). Facial emotion processing in patients with schizophrenia and their non-psychotic siblings: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Schizophrenia Research, 134(2-3), 143150. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2011.10.019 Google Scholar
Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D.R. (2002a). Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelliegnce Test (MSCEIT) item booklet Toronto. Ontario, Canada: MHS Publishers.Google Scholar
Mayer, J.D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D.R. (2002b). Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) user’s manual. Toronto, Ontario: Canada MHS Publishers.Google Scholar
Montag, C., Neuhaus, K., Lehmann, A., Krüger, K., Dziobek, I., Heekeren, H.R., & Gallinat, J. (2011). Subtle deficits of cognitive theory of mind in unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 262, 217226. doi: 10.1007/s00406-011-0250-2 Google Scholar
Nuechterlein, K.H., Green, M.F., Kern, R.S., Baade, L.E., Barch, D.M., Cohen, J.D., & Marder, S.R. (2008). The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, part 1: Test selection, reliability, and validity. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(2), 203213. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.07010042 Google Scholar
Phillips, L.K., & Seidman, L.J. (2008). Emotion processing in persons at risk for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 34(5), 888903. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbn085 Google Scholar
Schulze-Rauschenbach, S., Lennertz, L., Ruhrmann, S., Petrovsky, N., Ettinger, U., Pukrop, R., & Wagner, M. (2015). Neurocognitive functioning in parents of schizophrenia patients: Attentional and executive performance vary with genetic loading. Psychiatry Research, 230(3), 885891. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2015.11.031 Google Scholar
Seidman, L.J., Hellemann, G., Nuechterlein, K.H., Greenwood, T.A., Braff, D.L., Cadenhead, K.S., & Green, M.F. (2015). Factor structure and heritability of endophenotypes in schizophrenia: Findings from the Consortium on the Genetics of Schizophrenia (COGS-1). Schizophrenia Research, 163(1-3), 7379. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.01.027 Google Scholar
Shamsi, S., Lau, A., Lencz, T., Burdick, K.E., DeRosse, P., Brenner, R., & Malhotra, A.K. (2011). Cognitive and symptomatic predictors of functional disability in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 126(1-3), 257264. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2010.08.007 Google Scholar
Sheehan, D.V., Lecrubier, Y., Sheehan, K.H., Amorim, P., Janavs, J., Weiller, E., & Dunbar, G.C. (1998). The Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.): The development and validation of a structured diagnostic psychiatric interview for DSM-IV and ICD-10. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 59(Suppl 20), 2233. quiz 34–57.Google Scholar
Sitskoorn, M.M., Aleman, A., Ebisch, S.J., Appels, M.C., & Kahn, R.S. (2004). Cognitive deficits in relatives of patients with schizophrenia: A meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Research, 71(2-3), 285295. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2004.03.007 Google Scholar
Snitz, B.E., Macdonald, A.W. III, & Carter, C.S. (2006). Cognitive deficits in unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients: A meta-analytic review of putative endophenotypes. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 32(1), 179194. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbi048 Google Scholar
Steinmayr, R., Schütz, A., Hertel, J., & Schröder-Abé, M. (2011). Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Test zur Emotionalen Intelligenz (MSCEIT™). Deutschsprachige Adaptation des Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT™) von John D. Mayer, Peter Salovey und David R. Caruso. Bern: Hans Huber.Google Scholar
Surguladze, S.A., Chkonia, E.D., Kezeli, A.R., Roinishvili, M.O., Stahl, D., & David, A.S. (2012). The McCollough effect and facial emotion discrimination in patients with schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 38(3), 599607. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbq141 Google Scholar
Toomey, R., Seidman, L.J., Lyons, M.J., Faraone, S.V., & Tsuang, M.T. (1999). Poor perception of nonverbal social-emotional cues in relatives of schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenia Research, 40(2), 121130. doi: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00036-5 Google Scholar
Tucker, R., Farhall, J., Thomas, N., Groot, C., & Rossell, S.L. (2013). An examination of auditory processing and affective prosody in relatives of patients with auditory hallucinations. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 531. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00531 Google Scholar
van der Meer, L., Swart, M., van der Velde, J., Pijnenborg, G., Wiersma, D., Bruggeman, R., & Aleman, A. (2014). Neural correlates of emotion regulation in patients with schizophrenia and non-affected siblings. PLoS One, 9(6), e99667. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099667 Google Scholar
Wittchen, H.-U., Wunderlich, U., Gruschwitz, S., & Zaudig, M. (1996). Strukturiertes Klinisches Interview für DSM-IV (SKID). Göttingen: Beltz-Test.Google Scholar