Evaluating social effort in schizophrenia: psychometric properties of the social effort and conscientiousness scale (SEACS) in patients with schizophrenia

Karabulut S. N., BÜYÜKGÖK D., ZEREN N., TÜRKOĞLU Ç. C., Üçok A., İNCE GULİYEV E.

International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Özet

Background: The effort invested in establishing and maintaining social relationships is a key component of socialisation, yet it remains difficult to assess. Understanding the difficulties that individuals with schizophrenia experience in forming social connections through a self-reported assessment appears particularly important. Aims: This study aimed to adapt the Social Effort and Conscientiousness Scale (SEACS) into Turkish and examine its psychometric properties in individuals with schizophrenia. Methods: Sixty-four patients with schizophrenia and 70 healthy controls completed the SEACS-TR and related scales. Psychometric analyses included internal consistency, factor analysis, and convergent validity. Results: SEACS-TR demonstrated good internal consistency (α =.86). Using principal component analysis, we identified a three-factor solution (social initiation, connection, conscientiousness) explaining nearly 60% of the variance. A preliminary confirmatory factor analysis conducted within the same dataset supported the three-factor model with good fit (CFI =.927). Patients scored significantly lower than controls (t = 3.844, p <.001). SEACS-TR scores correlated moderately to strongly with social functioning, anhedonia, and negative symptoms. Conclusions: SEACS-TR is a reliable and valid tool for assessing social effort in schizophrenia and may inform personalised interventions.