Pathogenic beliefs among patients with schizotypal personality disorder

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the differences in pathogenic beliefs (PBs) between patients with schizotypal personality disorder (PD) and those with other PDs or without any PD. The study was conducted among 212 patients treated with psychotherapy at the Psychotherapy and Personality Disorder Clinic, Chiang Mai University between 2007 and 2019. Collected data included sociodemographic information, psychiatric disorders and personality disorder as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5 th Edition, and the Pathogenic Belief Scale (PBS). An analysis was conducted to compare three groups, i.e., patients with schizotypal PD, patients with other PDs and patients without any PD. The PBS score was compared by two outcomes: a total score and a categorical score of individual items. The entire sample was predominantly female (62.3%) with a mean age of 31.41 years. Most participants had a bachelor's degree (76.9%), lived alone (72.6%) and received diagnoses of major depressive disorder (45.8%). No significant differences were found in participants' characteristics regarding age, sex, educational level, marital status and psychiatric clinical diagnosis among the three groups. The mean PBS total score was highest for schizotypal PD (mean ¼ 58.74, SD ¼ 11.54), compared with non-schizotypal PD (mean ¼ 46.14, SD ¼ 13.15) and non-PD (mean ¼ 46.07, SD ¼ 11.17). Twenty of 27 items were significantly higher in the schizotypal PD group than in other groups, after adjusting for type I error. The number of PBs was significantly prominent for schizotypal PD. Possible explanations were provided.

Pathogenic Beliefs among Patients with Personality Disorders

“…Notably, significant pathogenic beliefs for this personality disorder included 'others are superior or more competent than you are' and 'your feelings, needs, or behaviors are overwhelming or alienating to others.'. These findings are consistent with prior research that has identified the same significant pathogenic belief items [13] and indicate that the pathogenic beliefs in schizotypal personality disorder are not solely linked to their cognitive style. These pathogenic beliefs may contribute to stress, leading to psychiatric symptoms and motivating individuals to seek therapy.…”

“…These 27 items exhibited unidimensionality and substantial reliability for both persons and items, each exceeding 0.80. The test-retest reliability over a two-week interval, calculated by intraclass correlation coefficient, was 0.65 (p < .001), indicating moderate reliability [13].…”

“…In a study conducted by Pattamanusorn et al, the focus was specifically on schizotypal personality disorder. The findings revealed that individuals with schizotypal personality disorder exhibited a higher prevalence of pathogenic beliefs compared to individuals with other personality disorders and those without personality disorders [13]. As of the current information available, it appears that there is no study conducted for other personality disorders.…”

A Review on Schizotypal Personality Disorder

“…Pattamanusorn and colleagues hypothesized in their study that individuals with SPD experience more 'pathogenic beliefs' than those suffering from other forms of personality disorders due to the severely impaired personality functioning of SPD [10]. Pathogenic beliefs are defined as the dysfunctional and debilitating perceptions of others and oneself that disrupt normal interpersonal activities or endeavors.…”

“…Using a retrospective cross-sectional design, the researchers examined the dissimilarities in the frequency of pathogenic beliefs among patients with SPD, other personality disorders, and those who do not suffer from any personality disorders. The participants for the study were patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorder and were receiving psychotherapy between 2007 and 2019 [10]. No confounding variables were controlled in the study.…”