Clinical symptomatology and empathy in schizophrenia: Which relationship?

Abstract

Introduction

The impairment of cognitive and affective empathy among patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) may represent a significant feature of the illness. However, the relationship between those impairment and dimensions of psychosis remains unclear.

Objectives

To explore whether cognitive and affective empathy are associated with severety of different psychotic symptoms.

Methods

Cognitive and affective empathy were evaluated in 58 patients with stable schizophrenia with the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) comprising five subscales intended to assess cognitive and affective components of empathy. Symptomatology evaluation comprised the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Clinical Global Impressions Scale Improvement and severity (CGI).

Results

Patients with better cognitive empathy had less total CDSS scores (P = 0.036, r = −0.449) and lower CGI-severity scale scores (P = 0.01, r = −0.536). Patients with better affective empathy had lower scores (which means a better improvement) at the CGI-improvement scale (P = 0.03, r = −0.461).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that empathy with its different component is not totally independent of the clinical state of the patient. Further studies are required to confirm whether empathy deficits are state or trait aspects of SCZ.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.