ABSTRACT
The term schizophrenia ± coined by Eugen Bleuler in a scienti®c meeting in 1908 ± embraces a clinically heterogeneous group of psychotic syndromes that are characterized by positive symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, negative symptoms including abulia and affective ¯attening, symptoms pertaining to expressive behaviors a subset of which is labeled catatonic, and neurocognitive de®cits (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). One common feature of the various types of schizophrenia is that many individuals suffering from the condition(s) are impaired in their social functioning. That is, patients with schizophrenia often have dif®culties in meeting societal de®ned roles, in maintaining social relationships and in self-care. Impaired social functioning is not only a (non-speci®c) core feature of manifest schizophrenia, but may also precede the onset of the disorder, and hence be already present in the prodromal stage. Moreover, social functioning often worsens over the course of the disorder, and poor social functioning contributes to the rate of relapse and need of rehospitalization (Pinkham et al., 2003). Put differently, social functioning in schizophrenia is an important outcome parameter and crucial for the evaluation of treatment (Burns and Patrick, 2007).
