Serafín Lemos-Giráldez

Validation of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire—Brief Form in adolescents

The main objective of the study was to validate the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) in a sample of non-clinical adolescents. In addition, the schizotypal personality structure and differences in the dimensions of schizotypy according to gender and age are analyzed. The sample comprises 1683 students, 818 males (48.6%), with a mean age of 15.9 years (SD=1.2). The results showed that the SPQ-B had adequate psychometric properties. Internal consistency of the subscales and total score ranged from 0.61 to 0.81. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the three-factor model (positive, negative, and disorganized) and the four-factor model (positive, paranoid, negative, and disorganized) fit reasonably well in comparison to the remaining models. With regard to gender and age, statistically significant differences were found due to age but not to gender. In line with previous literature, the results confirmed the multi-factor structure of the schizotypal personality in non-clinical adolescent populations. Future studies could use the SPQ-B as a screening self-report of rapid and efficient application for the detection of adolescents vulnerable to the development of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders in the general population, in genetically high-risk samples and in clinical studies.

Personality Dispositions and Health‐related Habits and Attitudes: a Cross‐sectional Study

We examined the relations between the Big‐Five personality dimensions, Health Locus of Control, and health‐related behaviours and attitudes. We focused on the question of potential advantages of the five‐factor model as an integrated framework for personality and health research. Fifteen health habits and attitudes (including smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, a variety of dietary practices, current stressors, and attitudes toward smoking and alcohol consumption) were used to operationalize the subjects’ lifestyle. The study involved 1184 students from twelve different university schools. Although our results resembled those of other studies, we found that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness were particularly noteworthy as predictors of health behaviours and cognitive attitudes and tendencies. Our results also suggest that both factors should be included as explanatory constructs in personality–disease models that may indirectly affect disease proneness via unhealthy behaviours.

Symptomatic and functional outcome in youth at ultra-high risk for psychosis: A longitudinal study

The current report assesses the clinical, functioning and demographic data of a cohort enrolled in the P3 prevention program for psychosis; a Spanish National Health System and Ministry of Science funded program. Comparisons are made between those individuals who had converted to psychosis and those who had not at 3years after an average of 24 treatment sessions. Subjects included 61 participants meeting Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes criteria, with ages ranging from 17 to 31, and all meeting criteria for ultra-high risk of psychosis. Prospective follow-up data are reported for patients re-evaluated at 1 and 3years. At 1-year follow-up, the conversion rate to psychosis was 18%, but increased to 23% at 3-year follow-up. The converted sample was older than the non-converted sample and more likely to have higher ratings on subsyndromal psychotic (positive and disorganized), negative and general symptoms, and lower levels of functioning at baseline assessment. Analyses of change over time indicated a clear clinical improvement in both clinically stable patients and in those who showed a transient psychotic state over time. No gender differences in symptom or functioning levels at the three follow-up time points were found; however, the interactions among conversionxgenderxSOPS total scorextime points significantly reflect that the growth profiles of the four groups (no conversion males, no conversion females, conversion males and conversion females) in the SOPS total score are not parallel and that, consequently, the four groups involved different patterns of change over time, males experiencing faster and longer deterioration when psychotic symptoms arise.

Schizotypy in Adolescence : The Role of Gender and Age

Schizotypy is a multidimensional personality construct that appears to indicate psychosis proneness. Supposedly, schizotypal traits behave differently depending on a persons age and gender, but few studies have examined this relationship. In our study we used the Thinking and Perceptual Style Questionnaire and the Junior Schizotypy Scales. The sample was made up of 321 students (169 males) with an age range of 12 to 17 years. The results show significant differences in gender and age groups. Males score higher than females on Physical Anhedonia, Social Anhedonia, and Impulsive Non-Conformity scales, while females score higher or Positive Symptoms, Negative Evaluation, and Social Paranoia scales. Significant differences were also found among age groups: Unusual experiences, self-referent ideation, social paranoia, thought disorder, and negative evaluation were more frequent in later stages of adolescence. However, the meaning of this difference could be interpreted in terms of emotional turbulence rather than as a direct indicator of vulnerability to psychosis.

Measurement invariance of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief across gender and age.

The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensional structure and measurement invariance of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) (Raine and Benishay, 1995) across sex and age in a representative sample of nonclinical adolescents and young adults. The sample consisted of 1789 adolescents and young adults (42.1% males), with a mean age of 17.1years (S.D.=2.9). The results indicated that the Likert version of the SPQ-B showed adequate psychometric properties (α total score 0.89). The schizotypal personality models that presented the best fit indices were Raine et al.s (1994) three-factor model and Stefanis et al.s (2004) four-factor model. In addition, the results support the measurement invariance of the SPQ-B across sex and age. When the latent means of the schizotypal dimensions were compared across sex and age, statistically significant differences were found. Consistent with previous literature, schizotypal personality is a multidimensional construct whose structure appears invariant across sex and age. Future studies should examine the invariance of schizotypal personality across cultures, as well as using the SPQ-B as a screening method in the general population to detect individuals at risk for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, given its rapid and easy administration.

Schizotypal traits, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and social functioning in adolescents

The relationship between self-reported social functioning, schizotypal traits, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) was studied in a sample of 508 adolescents, of which 49.8% were male adolescents, with a mean age of 14.9 (SD, 1.6). The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief, Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory and Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale was administered. The results showed that schizotypal personality in adolescents consists of 4 factors (Interpersonal, Disorganized, Paranoia and Magical Ideation) which are associated with OCS in nonclinical populations. The canonical correlation analysis showed that schizotypal traits and OCS shared 18% of the variance. Social functioning was negatively related to schizotypal personality traits; however, no relationship was found between social functioning and OCS. The data highlight the overlap between schizotypal traits and OCS, as well as the deficits in self-reported social functioning in schizotypal subjects. Future studies should focus on the link between these 2 constructs and study in depth the role that social functioning may be playing.

Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire: New sources of validity evidence in college students

Schizotypal traits represent the behavioral expression of vulnerability to psychosis in general population. Among the most widely used measurement instruments, we could find the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) (Raine, 1991). However, some aspects of its psychometric quality have yet to be analyzed. The main goal of the present study was to gather new sources of validity evidence of the SPQ scores in non-clinical young adults. The final sample was made up of 1123 college students (M=20.3 years; S.D.=2.6). The study of the internal structure using exploratory factor analysis revealed that SPQ items were grouped in a theoretical structure of seven second-order factors. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the four-factor model (Paranoid) displayed better goodness-of-fit indices than the other hypothetical dimensional models tested. More complex measurement models, such as those tested using second-order confirmatory factor analyses and Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling, also showed adequate goodness-of-fit indices. The reliability of the SPQ scores ranged from 0.80 to 0.91. A total of 11 items showed differential functioning by gender. Advances in psychosis phenotype measurement open up new horizons to understand the structure and content of schizotypy.

Schizotypal traits and depressive symptoms in nonclinical adolescents.

The main goal of this study was to examine the relationship between schizotypal personality traits and depressive symptoms in a sample of nonclinical adolescents. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (J Personal Disord 1995;9:346-355) and the Reynolds Depression Adolescent Scale (Reynolds WM. Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale. Professional Manual. Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc; 1987) were administered. The sample was made up of 1384 adolescents (48.6% boys), with a mean (SD) age of 15.7 (1.0) years. The results of the study indicate a high degree of overlap between schizotypal experiences and depressive symptoms at a nonclinical level. Canonical correlation between the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief scales and the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale scales was 0.63, which represents 39.69% of the associated variance between the 2 sets of variables. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 4-dimensional model made up of the Positive, Interpersonal, Disorganized, and Depressive dimensions was that which best fit the data. Moreover, the dimensional structure underlying the schizotypal traits and depressive symptoms was found to be invariant across sex and age. These findings converge with data found in previous studies of both patients with schizophrenia and nonclinical adults and suggest that affective dysregulation is also present at a subclinical level. Future research should continue to make progress in the early detection of participants at risk of developing schizophrenia-spectrum disorders based on the early identification of these types of subclinical traits.

Psychometric Properties of the Revised Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales in Non-Clinical Young Adults

Anhedonia, a central dimension within the schizotypy construct, has been considered to be a promising vulnerability marker for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. The Revised Physical Anhedonia Scale (RPhA) and Revised Social Anhedonia Scale (RSAS) are two self-reports widely used in the assessment of anhedonia; however, they psychometric characteristics have been scarcely investigated in Spanish population. The objective of the current work was to study the psychometric properties of the Revised Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales in non-clinical young adults. The sample was composed of 728 college students with a mean age of 20.1 years (SD = 2.5). The data indicated that the scales showed adequate psychometric characteristics. The Cronbach alpha was 0.95 (RSAS) and 0.92 (RPhA) respectively. The confirmatory factor analysis carried out on the matrix of tetrachoric correlations showed that both scales presented an essentially unidimensional solution. The Revised Physical and Social Anhedonia Scales seem to be adequate for psychosis-risk assessment in non-clinical populations. Future research should further investigate the construct validity in other populations and cultures as well as study its relation to emotional aspects and cognitive endophenotypes.

Schizotypy, emotional–behavioural problems and personality disorder traits in a non-clinical adolescent population

The main goal of the present study was to examine the relationship between the schizotypy dimensions, emotional-behavioural problems and personality disorder traits in non-clinical general adolescent population. A total of 1455 participants (M=15.9years; S.D.=1.2) were administered the Oviedo Schizotypy Assessment Questionnaire (ESQUIZO-Q), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+ (PDQ-4+). Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between the schizotypy and emotional-behavioural problems self-reported by adolescents. Participants with high scores in schizotypy dimensions, reported higher rates of affective and behavioural problems than those with low scores. Also, schizotypy dimensions and personality disorder traits were closely related in adolescent population. These data indicate, as occurs in clinical samples, the high overlap between schizotypy and personality disorder traits. Affective dysregulation and behavioural problems are present at the subclinical level in non-clinical adolescent population. These results have implications for the integration of schizotypy studies within the paradigms of developmental psychology and dimensional models of personality.