Cognitive and symptom correlates of participation in social skills training groups.

In a study of 19 hospitalized chronic schizophrenic patients participating in a manualized skills training program, neuropsychological functioning was found to be an important mediating variable. Executive functioning capacity was positively associated with level of participation in the training groups, and deficits in sustained attention together with negative symptoms correlated negatively with overall program attendance. Neuropsychological functioning should be considered as an important assessment domain when identifying patients with minimal requirements to begin skills training.