Prabhbani Bindra

INTRODUCTION: Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability of a person to understand his and others’ mental states. It is part of social cognition and is known to affect patients of schizophrenia by declining their socio-occupational functioning. There continues a debate whether it is state dependent or a trait of schizophrenia and by far the results have been mixed. AIM: To assess ToM deficits in patients of schizophrenia and compare with their first-degree relatives (FDR) and healthy controls. Additionally, to identify the factors affecting the ToM in patients of schizophrenia. METHODS: A cross-sectional comparative study to assess ToM deficits in 30 patients of schizophrenia in remission and their FDRs and compare them with healthy controls. Social Cognition Rating Tools in Indian Setting (SOCRATIS) was used to assess ToM. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was applied for assessment of severity of schizophrenia. The probable factors affecting ToM were also assessed. RESULTS: 43.33% cases had first order ToM deficit, 77.33% had second order ToM deficit and 93.33% cases had deficit in faux pas. FDRs performed poorly as compared to controls but not as poor as cases. CONCLUSION: The study shows that patients with schizophrenia have ToM deficits. These deficits are present even during remission, which could mean that ToM is not state dependent and is a trait marker of schizophrenia. FDRs also performed poorly on ToM tasks than healthy controls, which could mean that ToM is a possible endophenotype of schizophrenia.