Premorbid personality indicators of schizophrenia-related psychosis in a hypothetically psychosis-prone college sample

Abstract

Research into psychosis proneness has established the Chapman Psychosis Proneness Scales (CPPS), certain personality disorders, certain response patterns on the MMPI-2, and social withdrawal as being valid indicators of liability. The current study extends our understanding of premorbid indicators of schizophrenia-related psychosis (SRP) by examining whether individuals identified as hypothetically psychosis prone (HPP) by virtue of their CPPS scores also show differences on other premorbid indicators of SRP. Results indicate that HPP individuals evidence more deviancy in the schizophrenic direction. By providing additional construct validity for the CPPS and other endophenotypic indicators of premorbid processes, strategies for understanding the development of SRP are enhanced.

Revisiting the blurry boundaries of schizophrenia: Spectrum disorders in psychometrically identified schizotypes

“…Solano and De Chávez, 2000;Keshavan et al, 2005;Gooding et al, 2007;Fogelson et al, 2007Fogelson et al, , 2010Bolinskey and Gottesman, 2010) demonstrating a relationship between avoidant personality disorder and liability to schizophrenia. Social withdrawal and detachment have long been noted to be a hallmark feature of liability to schizophrenia (cf.…”

“…Our design allows for a direct analysis of the relationship between spectrum personality disorders and schizotypy without the influence of selection bias or demographic influence. Further, our study incorporated measures of personality disorder symptoms and personality disorder diagnoses that were obtained through semistructured interviews administered by trained clinicians and subjected to review by at least one other trained administrator, rather than relying on self-report, as in the Bolinskey and Gottesman (2010) study, or chart diagnoses that are often notoriously unreliable (cf., Garb, 1998;Jensen & Weisz, 2002).…”

“…Such findings have been extended to individuals deemed to be at risk for schizophrenia, as Fogelson et al (2007) have demonstrated that a relations exists between avoidant personality disorder and liability to schizophrenia even after statistically accounting for paranoid and schizotypal personality disorders, a finding that was supported by Gooding et al (2007). Bolinskey and Gottesman (2010) found higher rates of reported avoidant personality disorder symptoms among individuals classified as hypothetically psychosis prone compared to a matched control sample, although their study relied on self-report of symptoms. Fogelson et al (2010) have extended these findings into the neurocognitive realm by demonstrating that avoidant personality disorder symptoms can predict performance on neurocognitive measures associated with schizophrenia liability even after accounting for symptoms of other spectrum disorders.…”

The Subjective-Objective Disjunction in Psychometrically-Defined Schizotypy: What it is and Why it is Important?

“…Thus, individuals are not indiscriminately endorsing schizotypy traits. Relatedly, individuals with psychometrically-defined schizotypy completing comprehensive measures of self-reported psychopathology (e.g., the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) fail to produce abnormal validity profiles or elevated scores on all/most scales (Lenzenweger, 1991;Merritt, Balogh, & DeVinney, 1993;Penk, Carpenter, & Rylee, 1979) and sometimes fail to show evidence on scales presumed to tap psychosis-proneness (Bolinskey & Gottesman, 2010;Hunter, et al, 2014). Relatedly, many studies recruiting schizotypy groups also employ infrequency scales -measures that assess endorsement of infrequently occurring events, some of which have a pathological tone (e.g., "I have never combed my hair before going out in the morning"; Chapman & Chapman, 1983).…”

Putting the person first : an examination of thought disorder and personality heterogeneity in schizophrenia.

“…Those who exhibit low levels of E have a tendency to be more withdrawn. One study found that high levels of social withdrawal as measured by the Chapman Psychosis Proneness Scales (CPPS) were associated with psychotic proneness, consistent with recent literature that has found higher levels of social withdrawal in schizophrenia prodromes (Bolinskey & Gottesman, 2010). Similarly, Angst & Clayton (1986) found that within a sample of Swiss conscripts, those who later developed schizophrenia tended to score somewhat lower on E than other individuals although the difference was not significant.…”