The Effects of Social Skills Training vs. Psychoeducation on Negative Attitudes of Mothers of Persons with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVE: We compared the effects of two brief psychoeducation programs and social skills training on the negative attitudes of mothers with a son who has schizophrenia. METHODS: 15 mothers with strong negative feelings towards a sons with schizophrenia were assigned by convenience to participate in one of three brief (5 session) group programs at an outpatient clinic: lecture-based psychoeducation, video-based psychoeducation, or social skills training. Assessments using the Patient Rejection Scale were conducted with the mothers at post-treatment, and 3-, 6-, and 9-months later. RESULTS: Mothers in the three groups demonstrated significantly different patterns of changes in their negative attitudes following treatment. Whereas the mothers who received the two psychoeducation interventions showed reductions in rejecting attitudes immediately following the program, their scores gradually increased at the subsequent follow-up assessments. In contrast, the mothers in the social skills training group showed reductions in negative attitudes that were sustained across all of the follow-up assessments. CONCLUSION: Brief social skills training may be more effective than psychoeducation in reducing negative attitudes of parents who have an offspring with schizophrenia.