Social cognition v. emotional intelligence in first-episode psychosis : are they the same?

Gonzalez-Ortega et al. (2019) examined the longitudinal relationship between social cognition, cognitive reserve and functional outcomes in 192 patients with first episode psychosis. They found that social cognition mediated the relationship between cognitive reserve (assessed using estimates of premorbid IQ, years of education and employment attainment) and functional outcome (using the functional assessment short test) at 2 years follow-up. As social cognition did not mediate the same relationship at baseline, these findings suggest that social cognition is a primary factor specific to the long-term functional outcomes of individuals after experiencing first-episode psychosis. While the relationship between non-social cognitive functioning and functional outcome in first episode psychosis has been known for some time (Fett et al., 2011), this study provided important evidence on the need for social cognition to be included within the rehabilitative framework of recovery following first episode psychosis in order to maximise functional outcome.