College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item The Social Behaviors and Emotional Characteristics of Individuals Elevated on Social Anhedonia(2010) Llerena, Katiah; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Research suggests that social anhedonia (SocAnh) is a promising indicator for the vulnerability towards developing schizophrenia-spectrum disorders as well as an important determinant of the social impairment associated within these disorders. In this study we sought to examine the hypothesis that, within social affiliative interactions, individuals with SocAnh demonstrate problematic behavioral skills and experiential deficits. The current study compared controls (n=54) to individuals elevated on SocAnh (n=42) within a videotaped social interaction focusing on an initial affiliative interaction. Compared to controls, participants with SocAnh were rated as less behaviorally affiliative and they were rated as having overall lower social skills. There were no group differences on ratings of facial affect. SocAnh participants reported experiencing less positive affect in response to the social interaction, were less willing to engage in future social interactions with their interaction partner, and had less affiliative reactions toward the interaction partner. Results converge with prior findings in that individuals with SocAnh may experience less positive and affiliative reactions in response to social interactions. They may also be less apt in interacting with social partners in affiliative ways. Notably, results of the current study also demonstrate that the simulated live social interaction developed for the current study may better elicit social affiliative behaviors and experiences than previous stimuli.Item A simulated live interaction to examine behavioral correlates of social cognition in individuals with social anhedonia(2010) Park, Stephanie Grace; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure, is a core negative symptom of schizophrenia and is one of the strongest predictors for the development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. However, much is unknown about the processes that underlie social behavior in individuals with social anhedonia. The current study examined differences in social skillfulness, social functioning, and social cognition between these individuals and controls using a simulated live interaction, self-report measures, and assessments of social cognition. Results showed that, compared to controls, individuals with social anhedonia (1) reported lower levels of social functioning and social support, (2) were rated as having poorer overall social skill and affiliation, but (3) did not differ on three assessments of social cognition. Thus, social cognitive processes do not appear to explain the social deficits seen in individuals with social anhedonia, and future research ought to examine the role of other domains such as emotion or motivation.Item Racial Differences in Psychotic-like Experiences: A Study of Schizotypy in African Americans and Caucasians(2007-08-03) Adams, Kimberly Anne; Blanchard, Jack J.; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A considerable literature has long indicated that African Americans consistently receive more clinical diagnoses of psychosis than their Caucasian counterparts although higher rates of schizophrenia in African Americans have not been reliably documented. Prior studies are limited in that while many have found elevations in psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia diagnoses in African Americans patients, it is unclear whether these race differences indicate true rates of psychosis or whether other mechanisms such as lowered medication compliance and limited access to treatment might be complicating these findings. Further, comparisons between racial groups in studies of psychosis-proneness have focused primarily on mean group differences in overall psychotic symptoms. While helpful in establishing the existence of symptom differences in racial groups, these finding do not provide more qualitative information regarding the specific nature of these differences. It can therefore be suggested that a comprehensive understanding of the role of race in schizophrenia remains elusive. The goal of the current study was to extend the available research on race differences in the experience of psychotic-like experiences by addressing the following hypotheses in a sample of putative schizotypes (social anhedonics): 1) Social anhedonics will report more psychotic-like symptoms and experiences than controls, regardless of race, 2) Psychotic-like experiences will be more prevalent in socially anhedonic African Americans compared to socially anhedonic Caucasians, and 3) socially anhedonic African Americans will report more psychotic-like experiences with religious and paranoid themes than socially anhedonic Caucasians. Possible reasons for differential symptom expression will be explored, followed by assessment and treatment implications. Finally, suggestions for future directions of study will be discussed.Item Refining the prediction of risk for schizophrenia: Combining putative genetic and neurodevelopmental measures to predict schizophrenia-spectrum pathology(2004-01-27) aghevli, minu arianne; Blanchard, Jack J; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Social anhedonia may be a promising indicator of an underlying genetic liability for schizophrenia. However, among socially anhedonic individuals, only a minority shows schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. In attempting to understand who may develop schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, researchers have hypothesized that schizophrenia may require both genetic risk and the presence of early environmental stressors (e.g., obstetric complications). "Developmental instability," which pertains to such early environmental stressors, refers to an organism's inability to buffer the effects of environmental insults on development, and has been associated with genetic risk for schizophrenia. Although one might expect developmental instability to also be elevated in individuals at psychometrically-determined risk for schizophrenia, this hypothesis has not been well-tested. This study examined two related questions using a cohort of psychometrically-identified high risk (socially anhedonic) and control 18- year-olds, and their biological mothers: First, are measures of environmental insult (i.e., developmental instability and obstetric complications) higher in individuals at presumed genetic risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (i.e., socially anhedonic individuals)? Second, do measures of environmental insult interact with putative genetic risk to predict poorer functioning on measures of clinical psychopathology and neurocognitive ability? Developmental instability was studied using fingerprints, minor physical anomalies and handedness. Obstetric history was obtained from biological mothers where possible. Results showed that socially anhedonic subjects had higher rates of one DI measure (minor physical anomalies) than controls. In addition, they were more clinically impaired in terms of mood disorders and schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorders, as well as overall functioning. Minor physical anomalies were also associated with higher ratings of schizophrenia-spectrum personality disorder symptoms within social anhedonics. Finally, there was an interaction between social anhedonia status and minor physical anomalies for Schizoid Personality Disorder symptoms, with the interaction associated with greater pathology over and above the contributions of each variable separately. These results support social anhedonia as an indicator of genetic liability for schizophrenia. Moreover, they suggest that developmental instability is associated with psychometrically-measured risk for schizophrenia, as well as with clinical pathology. The interaction between social anhedonia status and minor physical anomalies is in line with previous research demonstrating an interaction between genetic risk and environmental stressors.