The Comparison of Facial Emotion Recognition in Schizophrenia Subtypes and its Relationship with Positive and Negative Symptoms

Deficiency in facial emotion recognition is among the main problems schizophrenia patients are facing. However, there is little information about this deficit in subtypes of schizophrenia. The present study aims to compare the facial emotion recognition in the three subgroups of schizophrenia (i.e. paranoid, disorganized, and residual), and to study its relationship with positive and negative symptoms. The research was descriptive with a causal-comparative design. Using convenience sampling and based on psychiatric diagnosis, clinical interview, and inclusion- exclusion criteria, 60 subjects were selected from among schizophrenia patients at Razi hospital in Tehran (including 19 paranoid patients, 21 disorganized patients, 20 residual patients). The research instruments were facial emotion recognition test and clinical symptom scale (PANSS). The data was analyzed by one-way ANOVA, post hoc tests, and non-linear correlation test. The results showed that disorganized patients had more impairment in the facial emotion recognition compared to other subtypes of schizophrenia. Subsequently, paranoid and residual patients showed major impairment, respectively. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between deficit in emotion recognition and negative symptoms in the patients. Altogether, the intensity of deficit in facial emotion recognition is different among different subtypes of schizophrenia