Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, United States.
Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, United States.
Psychiatry Res. 2018 Jul;265:1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.04.042. Epub 2018 Apr 13.
Deficits in empathy seen in schizophrenia are thought to play a major role in the social dysfunction seen in the disorder. However, little work has investigated potential determinants of empathic deficits. This study aimed to fill that gap by examining the effects of two variables on empathy - distress tolerance and metacognitive self-reflectivity. Fifty-four people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders receiving services at an urban VA or community mental health center were assessed for empathy, metacognition, and distress tolerance. Bivariate correlations and moderation methods were used to ascertain associations amongst these variables and examine interactions. Results revealed that, against hypotheses, empathy was not related at the bivariate level to either distress tolerance or metacognitive self-reflectivity. However, consistent with hypotheses, moderation analyses revealed that participants with higher self-reflectivity showed no relationship between distress tolerance and empathy, while those with lower self-reflectivity showed a relationship such that reduced ability to tolerate distress predicted reduced empathy. Taken together, results of this study suggest that lack of distress tolerance can negatively affect empathy in people with schizophrenia with lesser capacity for metacognitive self-reflection; thus, fostering self-reflectivity may help overcome that negative impact. Future work is needed investigating the impact of metacognitively-tailored interventions on empathy in this population.
精神分裂症患者的同理心缺陷被认为在该障碍的社会功能障碍中起主要作用。然而，很少有研究调查同理心缺陷的潜在决定因素。本研究旨在通过检查两个变量（痛苦耐受力和元认知自我反思）对同理心的影响来填补这一空白。54 名接受城市退伍军人事务部或社区心理健康中心服务的精神分裂症谱系障碍患者接受了同理心、元认知和痛苦耐受力评估。使用双变量相关和调节方法确定这些变量之间的关联，并检查相互作用。结果表明，与假设相反，同理心与痛苦耐受力或元认知自我反思均无相关性。然而，与假设一致的是，调节分析表明，自我反思能力较高的参与者在痛苦耐受力和同理心之间没有关系，而自我反思能力较低的参与者则存在关系，即减少痛苦的耐受力预测同理心的降低。总之，这项研究的结果表明，缺乏痛苦耐受力可能会对元认知自我反思能力较低的精神分裂症患者的同理心产生负面影响；因此，培养自我反思能力可能有助于克服这种负面影响。需要进一步研究针对该人群的元认知为导向的干预措施对同理心的影响。
