The specificity of schizotypal scales and some implications for clinical high-risk research

Publication date: 1 December 2019Source: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 151Author(s): Steffen Moritz, Burghard Andresen, Mary SenguttaAbstractResearch on schizotypal personality and schizotypy has emerged as an important methodological alternative to the investigation of manifest schizophrenia. Contrary to the assumption that schizotypy/schizotypal personality is specifically associated with schizophrenia, some studies have shown that psychiatric controls at times achieve similar scores in schizotypy assessment tools to patients with schizophrenia. We compared patients with schizophrenia, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as well as nonclinical controls using different schizotypy scales. Further, we explored the impact of response tendencies on schizotypy scores. Patients with schizophrenia achieved higher scores on positive schizotypal scales, but no scale distinguished this group from controls. We developed a schizophrenia-specific scale, the Schizophrenia Proneness Scale, consisting of 17 items that discriminated patients with schizophrenia from all control groups. Many (sub)scales were correlated with social desirability and infrequency. Whether these items are predictive of later schizophrenia remains to be tested in independent and preferably longitudinal studies. Response biases distorted results and deserve greater consideration in the future. We also recommend that disorganized (Bleulerian) symptoms should be examined in more depth. ...
Source: Personality and Individual Differences - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research