Moderately Eccentric: Evidence for Dimensionality in the Latent Structure of Schizotypal Personality Features.

The authors investigated the latent structure of schizotypal personality features using taxometric analysis in a large sample of individuals from clinical and nonclinical populations. A total of 7,072 community adults and 270 psychiatric patients participated in the study by responding to the eccentricity, distrust, and isolation scales from the Dimensional Clinical Personality Inventory (IDCP). Data were analyzed using three different taxometric techniques, MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode. The indicators proved valid for the taxometric analysis (d ≥ 1.25). The comparison curve fit index (CCFI) coefficients from the three methods used were close to zero, and the average CCFI was lower than .40, clearly indicating a dimensional structure for schizotypal personality features. These findings suggest that schizotypal personality traits occur in levels, with no evidence of any natural boundary between clinical and nonclinical manifestations. Results from other studies that were consistent with a categorical structure may be due to methodological weaknesses.

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire for Children (SPQ-C): Factor Structure, Child Abuse, and Family History of Schizotypy.

There is a relative dearth of research on features of schizotypal personality in children, in part due to lack of instrumentation. This study tests 5 competing models of the factor structure of the self-report Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire for Children (SPQ-C) and examines its relationship with a family history of schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), child abuse, and stability over time. Hypotheses were tested on 454 11- to 12-year-old schoolchildren and their caregivers. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a 3-factor structure of the SPQ-C (cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized). Test-retest stability was relatively robust over 3 months (r = .67), 6 months (r = .64), and 12 months (r = .55), with acceptable internal reliabilities (r = .84 to .91). Regarding construct validity, children with a biological family history of SPD had higher scores on all 3 factors (d =.51). Abused children had higher schizotypy scores (d = .55). A genetic × environment interaction was observed, with schizotypy highest in those with both a family history of schizotypy and also child abuse. Findings are the first in the child schizotypy field to document a gene × environment interaction and the independence of child abuse from confounding genetic influences. Results support the utility of the SPQ-C in future family and clinical studies of schizotypal personality and provide an avenue for much-needed and neglected research into the early antecedents of child schizotypal personality.

A dimensional measure of schizotypy: cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences short version for Brazilian Portuguese (O-LIFE-S)

Abstract Introduction The Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) is a widely-used scale, and the first to include a dimensional approach to understanding schizotypy. Objective To adapt the short version of the O-LIFE (O-LIFE-S) into Brazilian Portuguese. Method a) Two independent bilingual professionals translated the original instrument into Brazilian Portuguese; b) a third bilingual professional summarized the two translations; c) a fourth bilingual expert translated the Portuguese version back into English; d) this back-translation was adjusted by a committee of psychology experts; e) a pilot study was conducted with 10 participants from the general population. Results O-LIFE-S was considered ready to be used in a formal validation study in Brazil. Conclusion The scale appears to cover the dimensional approach to schizotypy. However, a future validation study needs to be conducted to determine the internal consistency and reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the O-LIFE-S .

Psychometric Properties of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) in a Mexican Population: Invariance Across Gender and Age.

BACKGROUND: The present study tested the factorial structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) in Mexican adults. Although this instrument has been validated in different cultural contexts, there are no studies to date that analyze its psychometric properties in a Mexican sample. METHOD: 307 adults completed the SPQ, seven participants were removed for being at high risk of psychosis. The final sample was made up of 300 participants (M = 34.58, SD = 13.77), of whom 62.8% were female. Raine's three-factor model and Stefanis et al.'s four-factor model were tested. RESULTS: The results indicated that both factor structures had a good fit to the data. However, the best evidence was for the three-factor solution. Configural, metric, and scalar invariance according to gender and age for the three-factor model was displayed. Further analyses showed women scored slightly higher in excessive social anxiety but this result was not statistically significant. Younger participants had higher scores on ideas of reference, excessive social anxiety, no close friends, and odd speech than the older group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide support for the use of the SPQ in the Mexican population.

A dimensional measure of schizotypy: cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences short version for Brazilian Portuguese (O-LIFE-S).

INTRODUCTION: The Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences (O-LIFE) is a widely-used scale, and the first to include a dimensional approach to understanding schizotypy. OBJECTIVE: To adapt the short version of the O-LIFE (O-LIFE-S) into Brazilian Portuguese. METHOD: a) Two independent bilingual professionals translated the original instrument into Brazilian Portuguese; b) a third bilingual professional summarized the two translations; c) a fourth bilingual expert translated the Portuguese version back into English; d) this back-translation was adjusted by a committee of psychology experts; e) a pilot study was conducted with 10 participants from the general population. RESULTS: O-LIFE-S was considered ready to be used in a formal validation study in Brazil. CONCLUSION: The scale appears to cover the dimensional approach to schizotypy. However, a future validation study needs to be conducted to determine the internal consistency and reliability of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the O-LIFE-S .

Conducta homicida en el trastorno esquizotípico. Presentación de un caso / Homicidal behavior in schizotypical disorder. A case presentation

Introducción: El trastorno esquizotípico se manifiesta desde edades tempranas como un patrón general de déficit social e interpersonal, comportamiento excéntrico, capacidad reducida para las relaciones personales y distorsiones cognoscitivas, incomprensibles psicológicamente. Objetivo: Fundamentar la responsabilidad médico-legal de un caso de trastorno esquizotípico que cometió homicidio. Presentación de caso: Individuo de 22 años, soltero, sin hijos, técnico medio, sin historia de trastornos mentales que es peritado por psiquiatría forense debido a que agredió a su abuelo materno con un arma blanca, y causó la muerte. Se le realizó examen psiquiátrico, se aplicó la Escala de Valoración de Impulsividad, se realizó electroencefalograma y valoración psicológica, que incluyó la aplicación de las pruebas proyectivas Bender, Machover y Rorschach. El diagnóstico propuesto por el equipo evaluador fue trastorno esquizotípico, sin enajenación mental. Conclusiones: El trastorno esquizotípico no es un diagnóstico frecuente en Psiquiatría. Cuando se involucra en conductas delictivas, estas ocurren en solitario y suelen estar relacionadas con agresiones hacia otras personas. Es determinante de semi-imputatibilidad o imputabilidad y no se recomienda su permanencia en régimen penitenciario(AU)

Introduction: Schizotypical disorder appears at very early ages as a general pattern of social and interpersonal deficit; eccentric behavior; reduced capacity to maintain personal relations; and cognitive distortions, which are psychologically inexplicable. Objective: To establish the medico-legal implications in a case of schizotypical personality disorder that committed homicide. Case presentation: A 22 years old individual, single, without children, technician, without history of mental disorders who is studied by Forensic Psychiatry because he attacked his maternal grandfather with a knife, which caused his death. Psychiatric examination was done; the Impulsiveness Scale was applied; and an enlectroencephalogram (EEG) and a psychological evaluation were carried out, which included Bender, Machover, and Rorschach tests. The evaluating staff made the diagnosis of Schizotypical disorder, without mental derangement. Conclusions: Schizotypical disorder is not a frequent diagnosis in Psychiatry. When it is involved in criminal behaviors, they occur in isolation and they are usually related to attacks to other persons. It is a determinant condition of semi-imputability or imputability. Prison system is not recommended(AU)

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief lacks measurement invariance across three countries.

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) is a commonly-used tool for measuring schizotypal personality traits and due to its wide application, its cross-cultural validity is of interest. Previous studies suggest that the SPQ-B either has a three- or four-factor structure, but the majority of studies have been conducted in Western contexts and little is known about the psychometric properties of the scale in other populations. In this study factorial invariance testing across three cultural contexts-Australia, China and Chile was conducted. In total, 729 young adults (Mean age = 23.99 years, SD = 9.87 years) participated. Invariance testing did not support the four-factor model across three countries. Confirmatory Factor Analyses revealed that neither the four- nor three-factor model had strong fit in any of the settings. However, in comparison with other competing models, the four-factor model showed the best for the Australian sample, while the three-factor model was the most reasonable for both Chinese and Chilean samples. The reliability of the SPQ-B scores, estimated with Omega, ranged from 0.86 to 0.91. These findings suggest that the SPQ-B factors are not consistent across different cultural groups. We suggest that these differences could be attributed to potential confounding cultural and translation issues.

The role of leisure in the lives of psychotic patients: a qualitative study.

Quality of life is defined by indicators that measure the life patterns of a person or community in relation to an ideal model. Leisure is an important component of quality of life and a tool for rehabilitation for patients with chronic psychosis. This qualitative study evaluated the role of leisure in the life of patients living with psychosis. Interviews with patients and relatives indicate that sociability is an important value for both groups. Deeper analysis, however, indicates that sociability is a culturally learned concept for patients and does not relate to their real needs. Improvement of symptoms and respect of individuality are more central to their well-being.

El problema de la distancia con el objeto o el dilema claustro-agorafóbico / The problem of object distance or the claustro-agoraphobic dilemma

El problema de la intimidad y las angustias claustrofóbicas frente al encuentro, así como las agorafóbicas frente al abandono, es un hecho clínico relevante que se da como motivo de consulta y como fenómeno durante el proceso analítico o terapéutico. El presente trabajo aborda esta problemática teórica tomando en cuenta autores franceses, kleinianos y del middle group. Se discute cómo la aparición del síndrome claustroagorafóbico es resultante de la mayor o menor penetrancia de núcleos esquizoides en la estructura de la personalidad del individuo. Finalmente se enfatizan las estimulantes perspectivas que se abren con el estudio empírico de la teoría del apego

[Applicability of the psychiatric classification ICD-10 in schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder and delirious ideas disorder]. / Aplicabilidad de la clasificación psiquiátrica CIE-10 en esquizofrenia, trastorno esquizotípico y trastorno de ideas delirantes.

Schizophrenia is the commonest and most important member of this group. Schizotypical disorder possesses many of the characteristic features of schizophrenic disorder and is probably genetically related to them, but this disorder does not exhibit the hallucinations, delusions, and gross behavioural disturbances of the schizophrenia itself, and so does not always come to medical attention. Most of the delusional disorders are a heterogeneous and ill understood collection of disorders which can conveniently be divided by their typical duration into a group of persistent delusional disorders and a larger group of acute and transient psychotic disorders. Simultaneously a Psychiatry and Occupational therapist studied the applicability of the ICD-10 in comparison with DSM-III-R in the diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Schizotypical disorder and Delusional disorder. Thirty patients were diagnosed in both classification systems, this allow us to describe the difficulties and advantages of ICD-10 in this group of disorders.

Aplicabilidad de la clasificación psiquiátrica CIE-10 en esquizofrenia, trastorno esquizotípico y trastorno de ideas delirantes / Applicability of the psychiatric classification ICD-10 in schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder and delirious ideas disorder

La esquizofrenia es el cuadro más frecuente e importante de este grupo (F-20). El trastorno esquizotípico (F-21) tiene muchos rasgos característicos de los trastornos esquizofrénicos, pudiendo estar genéticamente relacionados con ellos, pero no presentan alucinaciones, delirios ni trastornos conductuales propios de la esquizofrenia por lo que no siempre son diagnosticados. La mayoría de los trastornos delirante (F-22- forman un grupo heterogéno y no bien diferenciado en los que por su duración puede distinguirse un grupo de trastornos agudos y transitorios (F-23).(1). Un psiquiatra y un Terapeuta Ocupacional en forma simultánea estudiaron la aplicabilidad de la Clasificación Psiquiátrica Internacional CIE-10, (Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades mentales, décima revisión) en comparación con el DSM-III (Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los desórdenes Mentales, tercera edición revisada), en el diagnóstico Esquizofrenia, Trastornos Esquizotípicos y Trastornos de ideas delirantes persistentes. Se diagnosticaron 30 pacientes por ambos sistemas clasificatorios lo que permitió exponer los atributos e incovenientes de la CIE-10 para este diagnóstico

Aplicabilidad de la clasificación psiquiátrica CIE-10 en esquizofrenia, trastorno esquizotípico y trastorno de ideas delirantes / Applicability of the psychiatric classification ICD-10 in schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder and delirious ideas disorder

La esquizofrenia es el cuadro más frecuente e importante de este grupo (F-20). El trastorno esquizotípico (F-21) tiene muchos rasgos característicos de los trastornos esquizofrénicos, pudiendo estar genéticamente relacionados con ellos, pero no presentan alucinaciones, delirios ni trastornos conductuales propios de la esquizofrenia por lo que no siempre son diagnosticados. La mayoría de los trastornos delirante (F-22- forman un grupo heterogéno y no bien diferenciado en los que por su duración puede distinguirse un grupo de trastornos agudos y transitorios (F-23).(1). Un psiquiatra y un Terapeuta Ocupacional en forma simultánea estudiaron la aplicabilidad de la Clasificación Psiquiátrica Internacional CIE-10, (Clasificación Internacional de Enfermedades mentales, décima revisión) en comparación con el DSM-III (Manual Diagnóstico y Estadístico de los desórdenes Mentales, tercera edición revisada), en el diagnóstico Esquizofrenia, Trastornos Esquizotípicos y Trastornos de ideas delirantes persistentes. Se diagnosticaron 30 pacientes por ambos sistemas clasificatorios lo que permitió exponer los atributos e incovenientes de la CIE-10 para este diagnóstico (AU)

Borderline disorders of childhood: an overview.

This selected review considers children classified as "borderline" and focuses on two broad categories: Borderline personality disorder/borderline spectrum and schizotypal personality disorder/autism/schizophrenia spectrum classifications. Clinical descriptions, biological correlated, delimitation from other disorders, outcome, family studies, hypothesized etiologies, therapeutic considerations, and response to treatment are presented for each. Data support the subclassification of the heterogeneous groupings of borderline children into at least the two categories, and their differentiation from each other and from other clinical disorders in the population. Overlap across the borderline categories exists for individual children. The nature and shortcomings of relevant studies are described, the need for scientifically based research championed, and a differential approach to directive treatment of borderline children advocated. Further subclassification of borderline disorders should result in more cost-effective diagnosis and treatment.

Esquizofrenia latente: parámetros predictivos; estudio comparativo de una casuística institucional / Latent schizophrenia: predictive parameters; comparative study of an institucional casuistic

1. Los estudios de seguimiento y nuestros hallzgos sugieren que existen suficiente evidencia de que tanto las formas nucleares de la esquizofrenia cuanto las smarginales, entre ellas la latente, tienen genéricamente la misma identidad aunque específicamente posean características propias. 2. La sintomatologia esquizofrénica en el presente estudio la hemos agrupado en cinco grupos sindrómicos: psicóticos, neuróticos, conductuales-caracteriales, depresivos sexuales. El diagnóstico de la forma latente es difícil por su parentesco dual con la normalidad y con la sintomatología esquizofrénica reducida al compromiso moderado de la vida psíquica, necesitándose un exhaustivo examen clínico y algunos recursos auxiliares para poner de manifiesto el sutil transtorno subyacente. 3. El problema de la validez diagnóstica del subtipo latente en la esquizofrenia sigue siendo controversial, su cuestinamiento se debe a la falta de claridad en su definición conceptual, a la superposición de algunos de sus síntomas con los de otros subtipos tanto nucleares cuanto, sobre todo, marginales. 4. En el pronóstico de la esquizofrenia nuclear así como de las formas marginales de mayor expresión clínica existe un consenso sobre predictores de buen o mal pronóstico. La investigación de los predictores en la forma latente, a menudo sub-clínica, no ha merecido mayor atención. Entre los predictores pronósticos de la esquizofrenia nuclear y de algunas formas marginales, no latente,...