Psychopathological traits in college students from top-ranking french schools: Do autistic features impair success in science when associated with schizotypal traits?

Abstract

The link between personality and the interest of individuals for science has not been thoroughly explored. In this report, we studied psychopathological traits in students studying science in French top-ranking institutions. Three hundred and forty seven individuals answered questionnaires assessing autistic and schizotypal dimensions, as well as anxiety, depression symptomatology and attachment quality. A cluster analysis based on autistic and schizotypal traits led to the identification of 4 distinct profiles: a "low trait cluster", a "moderate autistic trait cluster", a "moderate schizotypal trait cluster" and a "high trait cluster" (HTC) composed of individuals with high scores on both autistic and schizotypal scales. Each cluster represented 20.1-27.1% of participants and was clearly different from the three others, both on autistic and on schizotypal dimensions. These groups could be also typified by their level of anxiety, depression or degraded attachment, which are proportional to the extent of psychopathological traits. Moreover, students from the HTC cluster displayed lower academic results, thus implying that autistic traits might impair success in science when they are associated with moderate schizotypal personality features. This study also suggests that depression and anxiety might mediate performance inhibition in the HTC group.

The relationship between autistic characteristics, social engagement and executive function in a typical sample

“…The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) (Baron-Cohen et al, 2001) is a questionnaire where scores above 25 are considered to be indicative of individuals with a significant level of autistic traits, with scores above 32 characterising those with ASD (Choteau et al, 2016). However, the AQ was designed as a descriptive, rather than diagnostic, measure of autistic traits (Ruzich, et al, 2015).…”

Rumination and altered reactivity to sensory input as vulnerability factors for developing post-traumatic stress symptoms among adults with autistic traits

“…[5][6][7] This kind of subthreshold manifestations, such as impaired social and communication skills, unusual and aloof personality, and repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, was originally detected among first-degree relatives of ASD probands, where they have been labeled as "broad autism phenotype." 2,6,[8][9][10][11][12] However, further studies highlighted how AT seem to be continually distributed in the population, being particularly high in specific high-risk groups, such as university students of scientific courses [13][14][15][16][17][18] or clinical groups of psychiatric patients with other kinds of mental disorders. [17][18][19][20][21][22] In this framework, it has been noted how both ASD and AT seem to play a significant role as vulnerability factors for the development of different psychiatric conditions, with a wide range of comorbidities between autism spectrum and several mental disorders.…”

Rasgos de personalidad disfuncional en estudiantes universitarios de Buenos Aires

“…Y, al examinar las diferencias según sexo, se hallaron puntajes superiores de ansiedad, depresión y somatizaciones en mujeres, mientras que ideación paranoide más alta en varones (Agudelo Vélez, Casadiegos Garzón & Sánchez Ortíz, 2008;Casullo, Morandi & Donati, 2006). Otros trabajos tuvieron en cuenta las carreras que cursaban los educandos, hallándose rasgos autistas y esquizoides en estudiantes de ciencias comparados con los de humanidades (Choteau, Raynal, Goutaudier & Chabrol, 2016). Con relación al ajuste a la vida académica, se encontraron resultados disímiles.…”