Making Meaning in the Presence of Sub-threshold Psychotic Symptoms: An Investigation of Metacognitive Capacity in Psychometric Schizotypy

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a complex and debilitating mental disorder characterized by a myriad of symptoms that affect multiple aspects of functioning. Metacognition, or the ability to form complex notions of oneself and others, has been evidenced to be deficient in schizophrenia. As such, one burgeoning line of research has sought to elucidate the role of metacognitive capacity on functional outcome across the schizophrenia spectrum. Although there is a substantial body of evidence about the role of metacognition in clinical manifestations of the disorder, few studies to date have explored whether similar deficits can be seen in individuals at risk for schizophrenia. One such at risk group is that of schizotypy wherein individuals demonstrate attenuated trait-like characteristics resembling less severe versions of those seen in psychosis. The aim of the current study was to investigate metacognitive capacities in this group. To that end, 67 participants were recruited (schizotypy = 34, control = 33) and two primary hypotheses were developed: 1) Individuals with schizotypy will exhibit significantly worse metacognition than a non-schizotypy group; and 2) Metacognition will account for additional variance above and beyond social cognition in predicting social functioning. Contrary to our hypotheses, group differences a metacognition and its subdomains were not significant. Further, inconsistent with studies in chronic schizophrenia, metacognition did not significantly predict social functioning. Our findings suggest that metacognition is preserved in schizotypy.