SOCIAL SKILLS TRAINING WITH CHRONIC-SCHIZOPHRENIC PATIENTS - EFFECTS ON NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS AND COMMUNITY FUNCTIONING

Sixty-three patients with schizophrenia who showed social skills deficits and poor community functioning were assigned randomly to either social skills training (SST) or a discussion group condition. In both treatments, patients met in small groups for 36 sessions of therapy over 4 months, followed by booster sessions of decreasing frequency during the following six months. Social skills, community functioning, quality of life, and positive and negative psychiatric symptoms were assessed at pre- and posttreatment, and at 6-month follow-up. Relapse was assessed during the treatment and follow-up phases. Those subjects who completed SST showed greater increases in social skill than subjects who completed the discussion condition, but there were no other significant differences between the conditions. Patients who completed either treatment showed improvements on quality of life and reduced psychopathology. SST alone had limited effect on community functioning.