SynthesisSchizophrenia bulletin2026
Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapies Targeting Cognitive Biases and Beliefs in Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Schizophrenia bulletin, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and hypothesisCognitive models of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) posit dysfunctional beliefs and cognitive biases as maintenance mechanisms of positive and negative symptoms. Although cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) targets these processes, its effects on mechanism-level outcomes remain unclear. This review examined whether CBT modifies dysfunctional beliefs and cognitive biases in SSD using rigorous randomized evidence. STUDY
designPRISMA 2020-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registered). Primary analyses were restricted to intention-to-treat (ITT) randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in SSD samples, using random-effects models and between-group post-treatment estimates. Pre-post and nonrandomized studies were analyzed separately as secondary evidence. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses were conducted. STUDY
resultsThirty-three studies met inclusion criteria. Fourteen ITT RCTs contributed to the primary pooled analysis of dysfunctional beliefs, yielding a small but statistically significant effect favoring CBT (g = 0.154, 95% CI, 0.049-0.259). Effects were strongest for delusional conviction (g = 0.450) and self-related schemas (positive-self g = 0.278; negative-self g = 0.298). Voice-related beliefs did not reach statistical significance. Too few RCTs assessed cognitive biases to support primary pooled analyses; exploratory findings suggested small effects for belief inflexibility and no reliable effect for jumping-to-conclusions. Greater reductions in dysfunctional beliefs were associated with greater improvements in positive symptoms across trials.
conclusionsCBT produces small but reliable improvements in dysfunctional beliefs in SSD, although effects vary by domains particularly for delusional conviction and self-schemas, supporting their role as modifiable therapeutic targets and plausible mechanisms of change. Effects on cognitive biases remain limited and understudied.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.