Comparison of social functioning of first-admitted schizophrenic patients with healthy subjects and evaluation of the influence of several socio-demographic and clinical variables on social abilities of patients, 1 month (T1), 13 months after hospitalization (T2) and 4-6 years after T1 (T3).

A group of 74 schizophrenic patients: 46 male and 28 female; age 24.7 ± 6.7 and a control group of matched 52 male and 34 female subjects were enrolled. Social Functioning Scale (SFS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Global Assessment Scale (GAS) and socio-demographic questionnaire were used.

In all examinations SFS scores in the patients (T1 - 103.4; T2- 104.4; T3- 107.0), were significantly lower than in the healthy controls - 117.0 (p< 0.001). In longitudinal analysis, a mild improvement was observed in T3 SFS score and in its three subscales (p< 0.05). In cross-sectional analysis, better social functioning was associated with female sex, longer education, activity before admission, and better functioning in the pre-admission period. In regression analyses SFS at T2 was predicted by PANSS (27% of the variance) and at T3 by PANSS and duration of psychotic symptoms (20% of the variance).

Social functioning in schizophrenia is disturbed from the onset of the disease and may be mildly improved in the intermediate follow-up. The duration of untreated illness and severity of symptoms after the first admission, are the independent significant determinants of social functioning in early course of schizophrenia.