Numerous psychiatric populations have demonstrated reduced tendency to adopt others’ perspectives relative to those without psychiatric illness; yet, the clinical implications of these deficits remain unclear. We examined whether impairments in perspective-taking are prospectively associated with symptom severity and functional outcomes in an acute psychiatric sample. We hypothesized that poorer perspective-taking would prospectively predict more severe depressive symptoms, functional impairment, and relationship problems. Participants were 421 adults seeking psychiatric treatment at a partial hospital program. Participants completed the following self-report questionnaires at admission and discharge: Interpersonal Reactivity Index, Patient Health Questionnaire, Work and Social Adjustment Scale, and Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale. We conducted cross-lagged panel models to estimate directional effects. Consistent with hypotheses, more frequent perspective-taking was significantly and prospectively associated with less overall functional impairment (β = −0.08, = 0.04) and fewer relationship problems (β = −0.11, = 0.02). When modelled together, perspective-taking remained a significant and bidirectional predictor of relationship problems, but not overall functional impairment. Inconsistent with hypotheses, perspective-taking did not prospectively predict depressive symptoms. Results suggest that perspective-taking deficits are uniquely associated with relationship problems among adults with severe mental illness and highlight a potential target for future intervention.

中文翻译：

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观点采择作为人际功能障碍的跨诊断危险因素

与没有精神疾病的人相比，许多精神疾病患者采纳他人观点的倾向有所降低；然而，这些缺陷的临床影响仍不清楚。我们在急性精神病学样本中研究了观点采择障碍是否与症状严重程度和功能结果前瞻性相关。我们假设较差的换位思考能力可能会预测更严重的抑郁症状、功能障碍和人际关系问题。参与者是 421 名在部分医院项目寻求精神治疗的成年人。参与者在入院和出院时完成了以下自我报告问卷：人际反应指数、患者健康问卷、工作和社会适应量表以及行为和症状识别量表。我们进行了交叉滞后面板模型来估计方向效应。与假设一致，更频繁的换位思考与较少的整体功能障碍（β = -0.08，= 0.04）和较少的关系问题（β = -0.11，= 0.02）显着且前瞻性相关。当一起建模时，观点采择仍然是关系问题的重要双向预测因素，但不是整体功能障碍。与假设不一致的是，换位思考并不能前瞻性地预测抑郁症状。结果表明，观点采择缺陷与患有严重精神疾病的成年人的关系问题有着独特的相关性，并突出了未来干预的潜在目标。