Background and Aims:
Understanding of Social Causality as one aspect of mentalization implies the ability to bind psychological intentions with manifest interpersonal behaviour. This metacognitive ability starts developing in early childhood provided there is a sensitive and containing attitude in mother-child dyad. Its deficiency in the context of marked clinical symptoms contributes to social maladjustment in personality disorders and reduces effectiveness of compliance and psychotherapy. Objectives of study: analysis of relationships between schizotypal traits and understanding of social causality
Methods:
Participants were 40 inpatients with schizotypal disorder and 40 controls. Understanding of social causality was assessed by SCORS scale for Thematic Apperception Test (Westen, 2002), schizotypal traits were diagnosed with SPQ-74 questionnaire (Enikolopov, Efremov, 2010).
Results:
Between-groups differences were found in the level of understanding of social causality (U=278,500, р<0,001). Logical faults and inconveniences, predominance of situational causality characterise inpatients group in contrast with complex appraisal of the role of psychic processes in social behaviour in control group. Regression analysis indicate causal relationships between understanding of social causality and blunted affect (β=-0,380, р<0,001), bizarre behaviour (β=-0,224, р<0,05) and magical thinking (β=-0,225, р<0,05). The characteristics listed determine distanced and eccentric behavior with reasoning detached from reality. A person with such a traits fences from mental reality of people, incorrectly interprets their motives or ignores them and deprives himself from important resources of analysis of social situations.
Conclusions:
Schizotypal traits of blunted affect, bizarre behaviour and magical thinking result to be predictors of understanding of social causality impairment, distancing the person from othersand hampering communication.

SCHIZOTYPAL TRAITS AS PREDICTORS OF UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIAL CAUSALITY IMPAIRMENT