The evaluation study for social cognition measures in Japan: Psychometric properties, relationships with social function, and recommendations

Hisashi Akiyama; Ryo Okubo; Atsuhito Toyomaki; Akane Miyazaki; Sachiko Hattori; Mariko Nohara; Yohei Sasaki; Ryotaro Kubota; Hiroki Okano; Kanami Takahashi; Yumi Hasegawa; Izumi Wada; Takashi Uchino; Kazuyoshi Takeda; Satoru Ikezawa; Takahiro Nemoto; Yoichi M Ito; Naoki Hashimoto

doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104003

The evaluation study for social cognition measures in Japan: Psychometric properties, relationships with social function, and recommendations

Asian J Psychiatr. 2024 Mar 11:95:104003. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104003. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hisashi Akiyama¹, Ryo Okubo², Atsuhito Toyomaki¹, Akane Miyazaki¹, Sachiko Hattori³, Mariko Nohara¹, Yohei Sasaki⁴, Ryotaro Kubota⁵, Hiroki Okano⁶, Kanami Takahashi⁷, Yumi Hasegawa⁸, Izumi Wada⁹, Takashi Uchino¹⁰, Kazuyoshi Takeda¹¹, Satoru Ikezawa¹², Takahiro Nemoto¹⁰, Yoichi M Ito¹³, Naoki Hashimoto¹⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.
² Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, National Hospital Organization Obihiro Hospital, Obihiro 080-8518, Japan; Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Translational Medical Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan. Electronic address: rokubo0425@gmail.com.
³ Division of Medical Imaging and Technology, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan.
⁴ Department of Clinical Data Science, Clinical Research & Education Promotion Division, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan; Faculty of Human Sciences, Musashino University, Tokyo 135-8181, Japan; Research Institute of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Musashino University, Tokyo 135-8181, Japan.
⁵ Department of Forensic Psychiatry, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan.
⁶ Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan.
⁸ Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Translational Medical Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan.
⁹ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo 143-8541, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo 143-8541, Japan; Department of Psychiatry and Implementation Science, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo 143-8541, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Clinical Data Science, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo 187-8551, Japan.
¹² Endowed Institute for Empowering Gifted Minds, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 153-0041, Japan; International Department of Psychiatry, University of Health and Welfare Mita Hospital, Tokyo 108-8329, Japan.
¹³ Data Science Center, Promotion Unit, Institute of Health Science Innovation for Medical Care, Hokkaido University Hospital, Sapporo 060-8648, Japan.
¹⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan. Electronic address: hashimona@gmail.com.

PMID: 38518537
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajp.2024.104003

Abstract

Aim: Patients with schizophrenia can have significant subjective difficulties in social cognition, but few undergo testing or treatment for social cognition. The Social Cognition Psychometric Evaluation (SCOPE) study recommends six social cognitive measures; however, the reliability and validity of these measures in different cultural and linguistic areas has not been adequately examined. We examined the psychometric properties of nine social cognitive measures and the relationship to social function, with the aim of determining the level of recommendation for social cognitive measures in clinical practice in Japan.

Methods: For our test battery, an expert panel previously selected nine measures: the Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task (BLERT); Facial Emotion Selection Test (FEST); Hinting Task (Hinting); Metaphor and Sarcasm Scenario Test (MSST); Intentionality Bias Task (IBT); Ambiguous Intentions and Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ); Social Attribution Task-Multiple Choice (SAT-MC); SAT-MCII; and Biological Motion (BM) task. In total, 121 outpatients with schizophrenia and 70 healthy controls were included in the analysis, and the results were provided to an expert panel to determine the recommendations for each measure. The quantitative psychological indices of each measure were evaluated for practicality, tolerability, test-retest reliability, correlation with social function, and the incremental validity of social function.

Results: Hinting and FEST received the highest recommendations for use in screening, severity assessment, and longitudinal assessment, followed by BLERT, MSST AIHQ, SAT-MC, and SAT-MCII, with IBT and BM receiving the lowest recommendations.

Conclusion: This study provides a uniform assessment tool that can be used in future international clinical trials for social cognitive impairment.

Keywords: Cognition; Psychological tests; Schizophrenia; Social cognition; Social function.