Social Functioning in First Degree Relatives of Patients with Schizophrenia and Mania with Psychotic Symptoms: A Comparative Study

Non-affective psychosis refers to psychosis not related to emotions and mood. Affective psychosis is a psychological disorder where people experience a loss of contact with reality and experience where mood disturbances are the primary cause. The focus has been shifted to the first degree relatives of these populations to prevent the disorder at the earliest. So, the first degree relatives are known to be high-risk population with a genetic vulnerability. These two psychotic disorders (schizophrenia & mania with psychotic symptoms) show various impairments in the various field but these impairments are present to define these disorders, unaffected relatives of these two disorders for different areas like social, cognitive, neurocognitive and social functioning. Aim of this study to assess social functioning in first degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia and mania with psychotic symptoms. The sample consisted of 30 first degree relatives (FDR) of patients with schizophrenia and mania with psychotic symptoms and 15 normal healthy control. After the initial screening by the clinical assessments, based on their amenability for the interview, a tool for the assessment of socio-occupational functioning (SOFS) was applied on all three groups. The study found that first degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia group found to be lower in externalized attribution bias on a measure of social cognition compared to FDR of patients with mania with psychotic symptoms group and healthy controls. And the FDR of patients with schizophrenia and mania with psychotic symptoms groups were found higher in reaction time in trail making on a measure of neurocognition compared to healthy controls.