The proposed project is a phase 3 treatment development study to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of the Social Cognition and Interaction (SCIT) program. SCIT is a group treatment that is provided in 50-minute weekly sessions over six months. Fifty six individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder will be randomly assigned to one of two conditions: 1) SCIT (n=28), or 2) Treatment as usual (TAU) (n=28). All individuals will continue to receive usual medical care for their disorder including antipsychotic medication. Participants must meet DSM IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, not meet current criteria for substance dependence, and have difficulty interacting with others. In addition, participants must be between the ages of 25-60, male or female, any ethnic background, and have an IQ greater than 70. Participants will be assessed at baseline, post-treatment (6 months), and 6 months after completing treatment on a small number of well-defined outcomes (due to the small size of the pilot RCT), including social cognition, social functioning, quality of life, and symptoms. Fidelity of clinicians to the treatment manual will be assessed by weekly supervision, audiotaping the therapy sessions, and utilization of fidelity scales. Data on paranoia and neurocognition, potential moderating variables, will be collected at baseline. Stakeholder (client and therapist) feedback will be obtained at post-treatment only, so as to inform possible revisions to the treatment manual. ? ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Planning Grant (R34)
Project #
5R34MH080010-02
Application #
7425957
Study Section
Interventions Committee for Disorders Related to Schizophrenia, Late Life, or Personality (ITSP)
Program Officer
Kozak, Michael J
Project Start
2007-06-01
Project End
2010-05-31
Budget Start
2008-06-01
Budget End
2009-05-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$210,835
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
608195277
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
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Buck, Benjamin; Penn, David L (2015) Lexical Characteristics of Emotional Narratives in Schizophrenia: Relationships With Symptoms, Functioning, and Social Cognition. J Nerv Ment Dis 203:702-8
Healey, Kristin M; Combs, Dennis R; Gibson, Clare M et al. (2015) Observable Social Cognition--A Rating Scale: an interview-based assessment for schizophrenia. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 20:198-221
Roberts, David L; Combs, Dennis R; Willoughby, Michael et al. (2014) A randomized, controlled trial of Social Cognition and Interaction Training (SCIT) for outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Br J Clin Psychol 53:281-98
Buck, Benjamin; Ludwig, Kelsey; Meyer, Piper S et al. (2014) The use of narrative sampling in the assessment of social cognition: the Narrative of Emotions Task (NET). Psychiatry Res 217:233-9
Penn, David L; Keefe, Richard S E; Davis, Sonia M et al. (2009) The effects of antipsychotic medications on emotion perception in patients with chronic schizophrenia in the CATIE trial. Schizophr Res 115:17-23