Reciprocal relations between dimensions of Oppositional defiant problems and callous-unemotional traits.

Although irritability, headstrong/defiant behavior, and callous-unemotional traits (CU traits) often co-occur, the prospective associations between them are not well known. A general population sample of 622 children was followed up yearly from ages 3 to 12 years and assessed using dimensional measures of irritability, headstrong/defiant, and CU traits with teacher provided information. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model, accounting for all unmeasured time-invariant confounding using the children as their own controls, revealed cross-lagged reciprocal associations between increased headstrong/defiant and increased CU traits at all ages and a unidirectional association from headstrong/defiant to irritability. The findings are consistent with headstrong/defiant behavior and CU traits mutually influencing each other over time and headstrong/defiant behavior enhancing irritability. School-based intervention and prevention programs should take these findings into consideration. They also suggest that irritability acts as a distinct developmental dimension of headstrong/defiant and callous-unemotional behaviors and needs to be addressed independently.

Irritability, Defiant and Obsessive-Compulsive Problems Development from Childhood to Adolescence.

Little is known about the coexistence of oppositionality and obsessive-compulsive problems (OCP) in community children and how it affects their development until adolescence to prevent possible dysfunctions. The co-development of oppositional defiant dimensions and OCP is studied in 563 children (49.7% female) from ages 6 to 13 years, assessed yearly with measures answered by parents and teachers. A 4-class model based on Latent Class Growth Analysis for three parallel processes (irritability, defiant, and OCP) was selected, which showed adequate fitting indexes. Class 1 (n = 349, 62.0%) children scored low on all the measures. Class 2 (n = 53, 9.4%) contained children with high OCP and low irritability and defiant. Class 3 (n = 108, 19.2%) clustered children with high irritability and defiant and low OCP. Class 4 (n = 53, 9.4%) clustered comorbid irritability, defiant, and OCP characteristics. The classes showed different clinical characteristics through development. The developmental co-occurrence of irritability and defiant plus obsessive-compulsive behaviors is frequent and adds severity through development regarding comorbidity, peer problems, executive functioning difficulties, and daily functioning. The identification of different classes when combining oppositional problems and OCP may be informative to prevent developmental dysfunctions and to promote good adjustment through development.

Co-developmental Trajectories of Defiant/Headstrong, Irritability, and Prosocial Emotions from Preschool Age to Early Adolescence.

This study ascertains how the proposed subtypes and specifiers of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) based on irritability and prosocial emotions co-develop and describes the clinical characteristics of the resultant classes. A sample of 488 community children was followed up from ages 3 to 12 years and assessed with categorical and dimensional measures answered by parents and teachers. Latent class growth analysis for three parallel processes [defiant/headstrong, irritability, and limited prosocial emotions (LPE)] identified a 4-class model with adequate entropy (.912) and posterior probabilities of class membership (≥ .921). Class 1 (n = 38, 7.9%) was made up of children with defiant/headstrong with chronic irritability and LPE. Class 2 (n = 128, 26.3%) was comprised of children with defiant/headstrong with chronic irritability and typical prosocial emotions. Class 3 (n = 101, 20.7%) clustered children with LPE without defiant/headstrong and without irritability. Class 4 (n = 220, 45.1%) included children with the lowest scores in all the processes. The classes were distinguishable and showed different clinical characteristics through development. These findings support the validity of ICD-11 ODD subtypes based on chronic irritability and may help to guide clinicians' decision-making regarding treating oppositionality in children.

Developmental trajectories of social cognition from preschool to adolescence.

This longitudinal study aims to define the developmental trajectories of social cognition (SC) in a community sample (N = 378) assessed from preschool (3 years old) to preadolescence (12 years old). Parents and teachers reported on a SC measure at ages 5, 10, and 12. We tested the existence of different trajectories and whether they discriminated outcomes in early adolescence. The data were collected from different sources, the children, the parents, and teachers, by means of different methods. Using Growth Mixture Modeling (GMM), we identified three distinct social cognition trajectories: persistently mild difficulties reported by parents and teachers (7.9% of the children), stable low problems reported by parents and increased difficulties reported by teachers (10.5% of the sample), and stable low problems reported by both informants for most of the participants (81.5%). Comparison of the psychological outcomes between classes using regression models showed that the two trajectories including children with any level of problems differ from the normative one as regards their association with psychological problems, daily functioning, and variables, such as aggressive behavior and callousness. The two non-normative trajectories also differ from each other in terms of the personal characteristics of the adolescents included in them. Adolescents in the increasing problematic class in the school have a tougher and more problematic style of social relating, while children with persistent and non-context-dependent difficulties are more anxious. These results might help to better detect and design specific interventions for children with deficits in SC that might respond to different personal characteristics leading to different outcomes.

Prospective association of parental and child internalizing symptoms: Mediation of parenting practices and irritability.

Maternal internalizing symptoms have been linked with child internalizing symptoms, but paternal internalizing difficulties have received little attention. Our aims were to prospectively analyse the simultaneous effect of maternal and paternal internalizing symptoms on child internalizing difficulties, examining gender differences, and to verify the mediating effect of parenting practices and child irritability. The sample included 470 families assessed at child ages 3, 6, 8, and 11. Multi-group structural equation modelling was performed with Mplus8.2. Complete equivalence was found between boys and girls for all paths. Maternal internalizing symptoms at age 3 had an indirect effect on child internalizing symptoms at age 11, via irritability at age 8. Paternal internalizing symptoms at age 3 were not associated with any of the variables under study. Maternal internalizing symptoms and child irritability are targets for intervention in order to prevent child internalizing difficulties.

The Effect of Child Sexual Abuse on Social Functioning in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.

The objective of this study was to explore social functioning in schizophrenic patients who have suffered child sexual abuse (CSA) in comparison with those who have not suffered from it in a Spanish sample of 50 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The Quality of Life (QOL) Scale, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), and the NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) were administered in this study. We found a CSA prevalence of 22% in our sample. Results showed that QOL global scores reduced by 9.34% at a statistically significant level (p = .037) in sexually abused patients in comparison with those who did not report experiencing sexual abuse. Regression analysis in the QOL scales showed no differences in intrapsychic foundation scores or in the social relations scale. Scores in the instrumental role scale were reduced by 4.42 points in patients with CSA (p = .009). Neither neuroticism nor extraversion results differ between the trauma group and those who did not suffer trauma. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Transdiagnostic trajectories of irritability and oppositional, depression and anxiety problems from preschool to early adolescence.

Irritability is a transdiagnostic symptom in oppositional defiant disorder, depression, and anxiety, all highly comorbid disorders but with unknown simultaneous evolution. The aim was to obtain the developmental trajectories of simultaneous irritability and oppositional, depression, and anxiety problems from preschool age to early adolescence. A sample of 493 community children was followed up annually from ages 3-11 years and assessed using categorical and dimensional measures answered by parents and teachers. Latent Class Growth Analysis for four parallel processes was used to identify distinct groups of individual trajectories for irritability and oppositional, depression, and anxiety problems. Outcomes at ages 11 and 12 were compared among trajectories using regression models and multiple comparisons. A 3-class model showed the highest entropy (0.961) and adequate posterior probabilities of class membership (≥0.969). Class 1 (n = 331, 67.1%) was made up of children with stable low scores in all the variables; class 2 (n = 55, 11.2%) of children with high depression, anxiety, and irritability and above the mean stable profiles for oppositional problems; and class 3 (n = 107, 21.7%) of children with medium-high increasing irritability and oppositional problems and on the mean depression and anxiety. The classes with symptomatology and irritability (2 and 3) clearly differed from class 1 (low) at baseline and in outcomes. The course of irritability and oppositional, depression, and anxiety problems from ages 3-11 years differed qualitatively and quantitatively across subgroups of children. The 3 classes identified may help to guide clinicians' decision-making regarding treating irritability and its comorbid disorders.

How the Affective Reactivity Index (ARI) works for teachers as informants.

BACKGROUND: The Affective Reactivity Index (ARI) is a brief instrument originally designed as a self- and parent report. However, the view of teachers, who can observe social situations that may give rise to irritability, is relevant. The goal is to provide the measurement qualities of the ARI score as reported by teachers. METHOD: Children formed part of a longitudinal study on behavior problems in Barcelona (Spain) and they were assessed when they were 7 (N = 471) and 11 years old (N = 454) with questionnaires about psychopathology, anger and aggressive behavior, and a diagnostic interview answered by the parents, youths and teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance, reliability and validity were studied for the ARI answered by teachers. RESULTS: The 6-item, 1-factor model fitted well. Almost full metric invariance and partial scalar invariance was obtained across sex and over age. The ARI scores largely converged with other teacher-reported measures of anger and irritability, and with other measures of psychopathology, aggressive behavior, and callous-unemotional traits at a medium level. The associations with parent's measures were medium to low, and very low for child self-reported measures. The ARI scores significantly differentiated children with and without psychopathology and functional impairment, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. LIMITATIONS: Only one child self-report measure of irritability included. Limited internal consistency of some scale scores. Findings are mostly generalizable to Spanish children. CONCLUSIONS: ARI could be a suitable instrument for measuring irritability as reported by teachers. The teacher's view can be useful when planning treatment by helping to identify treatment targets.

Irritability and parenting practices as mediational variables between temperament and affective, anxiety, and oppositional defiant problems.

Irritability and parenting are potential targets for transdiagnostic studies to identify the common and core dysfunctional characteristics underlying several diagnostic pictures with the goal of addressing these issues in treatment. Our objective was to investigate the different paths from temperament to child psychopathology (affective, anxiety, and oppositional problems) through irritability and parenting using a prospective design from ages 3 to 7. A sample of 614 3-year-old preschoolers was followed at ages 4, 6, and 7. Parents answered questionnaires about temperament (age 3), irritability (age 4), parenting practices (age 6), and psychopathology (age 7). Statistical analyses were carried out through structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the mediation effect of irritability and parenting practices from temperament (negative affectivity and effortful control) through to affective, anxious, and oppositional problems. The proposed model fit the data well. SEM showed (a) an indirect effect from temperament to affective problems, via irritability and positive parenting; (b) a direct effect from negative affectivity to anxiety, plus an indirect effect from both temperament dimensions, via irritability and autonomy parenting practices; and (c) an indirect effect from temperament to oppositional problems, via irritability and punitive parenting. Irritability and parenting are transdiagnostic mediational variables that should be focused on in intervention programs for affective, anxiety, and oppositional problems.

First incidence, age of onset outcomes and risk factors of onset of DSM-5 oppositional defiant disorder: a cohort study of Spanish children from ages 3 to 9.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the 1-year first incidence and prevalence of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), the outcomes on psychopathology and functioning by age of onset and the risk factors of onset of ODD from ages 3 to 9 in children from the Spanish general population. DESIGN: Longitudinal with seven follow-ups and double cohort (ODD and non-ODD children). SETTING: General population of preschool and elementary school children in Barcelona (Spain). PARTICIPANTS: On a first phase, the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire conduct problems scale plus ODD Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth version, symptoms were used to screen for behavioural problems. The second phase sample size contained 622 cases at age 3 and, at age 9, 418 remained in the study. RESULTS: The probability of the onset of ODD showed increasing values at ages 4 (R=2.7%) and 5 years (R=4.4%). These values decreased until age 7 (R=1.9%) and increased again until age 9 (R=3.6%). Up to 9 years old, the cumulative risk of new cases of ODD was 21.9%. Early onset was associated with a higher risk of depression comorbidity and later onset with higher functional impairment and symptomatology. Subthreshold ODD, high scores in irritability and headstrong dimensions, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other comorbidity, negative affectivity until age 7, difficulties in inhibit and emotional control, punitive parenting and maternal internalising problems were risk factors of a first episode of ODD during this 7-year period. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of new cases of ODD in the general population at preschool age and during childhood is high. Preschool age is a target period for preventive interventions. Identified risk factors are objectives for targeted and indicated interventions.

Association of OXTR rs53576 with the Developmental Trajectories of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Stressful Life Events in 3- to 9-Year-Old Community Children.

The objective was to obtain developmental trajectories combining callous-unemotional traits and the number of stressful life-events between ages 3 and 9 years and to ascertain their association with the polymorphism rs53576 at the Oxytocin Receptor gene (OXTR). A total of 377 children were assessed yearly from ages 3 to 9 years. Latent class growth analysis for parallel processes was used to identify distinct trajectories for callous-unemotional traits (assessed using the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits, ICU) and number of stressful life-events, and then the influence of being an A allele carrier on class membership was included with OXTR genotypes as a binary time-invariant predictor, following a 3-step approach. A 3-class model showed the highest entropy (.859) and adequate posterior probabilities of class membership (≥.884). Class 1 (n = 226, 59.9%) included children with low and stable ICU scores and low and descending stressful life-events; class 2 (n = 127, 33.7%) included children with high and ascending ICU scores and low and slightly descending stressful life-events; and class 3 (n = 24, 6.4%) included children with persistently high profiles both for ICU scores and stressful life-events. Carrying an A allele (genotypes GA/AA) increased the odds of pertaining to class 3 (high and persistent ICU scores and stressful life-events) as opposed to class 2 (OR = 4.27, p = 0.034) or class 1 (OR = 3.81, p = 0.042). The results suggest the importance of considering callous-unemotional traits and stressful life-events in conjunction. In addition, the genetic variability of OXTR (rs53576) may help to understand individual differences in early development.

Attention to emotion through a go/no-go task in children with oppositionality and callous-unemotional traits.

BACKGROUND: There is debate about whether the difficulties that children with different degrees of oppositionality (ODD) and callous-unemotional traits (CU) have in processing emotions are global or specific. The aim of this study is to identify difficulties in recognizing emotion (happiness, anger, sadness and fear) through a go/no-go task in children with different levels of ODD and CU traits. METHOD: A total of 320 8-year-old children were assessed through questionnaires filled out by teachers about oppositional defiant symptoms and CU traits and were then distributed into four groups: LowCU-HighODD, HighCU-LowODD, HighCU-HighODD and a comparison group (LowCU-LowODD). RESULTS: The analyses of variance comparing the 4 groups showed that the two groups with high ODD were less accurate than the control group in recognizing the emotion when the stimuli expressed happiness, fear or neutral emotion. The HighCU-HighODD group differed in the quality of the response (correct/wrong responses) but not in the reaction time in relation to the comparison group. The LowCU-HighODD group was faster to respond to emotions than the comparison group. IMPLICATIONS: The results show that the deficit in emotion processing is not restricted to specific distressing emotions such as fear or sadness, but they point to a global impairment in emotion processing in children scoring high in the constructs studied. The results also suggest that the difficulties that children with combined CU traits and oppositional conduct problems have in processing emotions are more of an emotional rather than an attentional nature.

Expressed and perceived criticism, family warmth, and symptoms in schizophrenia.

Criticism directed by caregivers towards a family member with schizophrenia, both from the perspective of the patient and of the caregiver, predicts relapse, although both perspectives differ. This study aims to verify if the same applies to a Mediterranean sample, where criticism is not the main attitude of high expressed emotion families. The Camberwell Family Interview was applied to assess the family's perspective, and the Perceived Criticism and the Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scales were used to assess the patients' perspective, in 21 dyads. The association between both perspectives and psychotic symptoms was also examined. Results replicated those of previous studies in other countries, revealing that the perspectives on Criticism of patients and families do not match. The fact that family members also presented positive attitudes towards the patient did not cushion the patient's perceived criticism. Thus, it seems that families considered to be critical may not be perceived as such by the patients. Furthermore, only the warmth from the family's perspective correlated with the symptoms: positive affect proved to be more relevant than negative affect. Therefore, the patients' subjective assessments and family warmth should be included in clinical and research proposals.

Expressed and perceived criticism, family warmth, and symptoms in schizophrenia

Criticism directed by caregivers towards a family member with schizophrenia, both from the perspective of the patient and of the caregiver, predicts relapse, although both perspectives differ. This study aims to verify if the same applies to a Mediterranean sample, where criticism is not the main attitude of high expressed emotion families. The Camberwell Family Interview was applied to assess the family’s perspective, and the Perceived Criticism and the Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scales were used to assess the patients’ perspective, in 21 dyads. The association between both perspectives and psychotic symptoms was also examined. Results replicated those of previous studies in other countries, revealing that the perspectives on Criticism of patients and families do not match. The fact that family members also presented positive attitudes towards the patient did not cushion the patient’s perceived criticism. Thus, it seems that families considered to be critical may not be perceived as such by the patients. Furthermore, only the warmth from the family’s perspective correlated with the symptoms: positive affect proved to be more relevant than negative affect. Therefore, the patients’ subjective assessments and family warmth should be included in clinical and research proposals (AU)

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Dyadic view of expressed emotion, stress, and eating disorder psychopathology.

Prevailing models of the association between expressed emotion (EE) and relapse conceptualize EE as a form of stress for patients. In eating disorders (ED), there is no research addressed to evaluate the degree to which patients feel stress due to their relatives' EE. It has been neither investigated how the EE and the subsequent stress relate to disordered behaviours and attitudes neither. Using a sample of 77 inpatients with ED, this study aimed to: (1) evaluate patients' reported level of stress as it relates to their caregivers' EE, particularly as associated with carer's criticism, emotional overinvolvement and warmth; (2) examine the associations of stress with the patients' perceptions (self-reported) and the caregivers' perspective (assessed by the Camberwell Family Interview) of the EE; and (3) study how the two views of EE (patients' and caregivers') and the stress due to EE relate to the ED symptoms. The findings indicate that patients judged their carers' critical stance as the most stressful, followed by emotional overinvolvement. Secondly, patients' perceptions of EE, whereas none of the interview indices focused on the caregivers' perspective, were associated to the stress and to the ED symptomatology. Additionally, the patients' stress due to criticism was positively related to the ED symptoms, while the stress associated with emotional overinvolvement and warmth was not. Clinical and research implications are discussed. Findings suggest attention to the ED patients' view of their family environment and support the utility of assessing their appraisals of EE.

Further development of a scale of perceived expressed emotion and its evaluation in a sample of patients with eating disorders.

High expressed emotion (EE) as measured by the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI) predicts the course of eating disorders (ED). Despite its important contribution to the field, the CFI has two major limitations; it is time-consuming and it does not consider the patient's perspective. Obtaining the patient's view may help shed light on the dyadic nature of caregiver's EE and the patient's illness course. The objectives of our study of 77 patients with ED were to develop further a brief measure to assess the patients' perceptions of their caregivers' EE, the patient version of the Brief Dyadic Scale of Expressed Emotion (BDSEE), and to evaluate its psychometric properties. Three clearly separate factors were identified: perceived criticism, perceived emotional overinvolvement, and perceived warmth. The BDSEE also demonstrated good levels of reliability and construct validity. The BDSEE subscales are significantly related to other measures of the perceived family emotional climate and to the CFI, the gold standard in the field of EE. The clinical implications of the ED patients' perceptions of their caregivers' EE are discussed. Findings support the utility of the expanded BDSEE for both research and clinical practise in assessing the perspective of patients with ED.

Evaluación de la conducta adolescente con las Escalas de Achenbach: ¿existe concordancia entre diferentes informantes?

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Summary: Introduction Behavioural problems in adolescents are thought to be relevant as strong predictors for the detection of other psychological disorders. For this reason and due to the importance they present by themselves, carrying out an adequate assessment of them is fundamental. Mental health professionals have diverse opinions about the value and importance of the different informants. The majority choose of their sources according to the disorder and necessities of each evaluator. On the other hand, the need to obtain data about adolescents' functioning from multiple resources has been emphasised and numerous reasons have been exposed. Concretely, the fact of carrying out the most objective and complete evaluations as possible has been considered essential in those studies aimed at evaluating behavioural alteration in adolescents. For this reason, Achenbach developed three versions of his scale: one for the parents, another for the teachers and a third one for the adolescents themselves. Numerous investigations have studied the concordance between groups of informants about different behavioural alterations in adolescents, but none have carried out a complete analysis of all informants in all subscales (not only the total ones). For this reason, the current study has been developed with the aim of contributing to obtain an enriching vision for the professional in the field. Objectives. a) To systematically explore agreement patterns between adolescents, teachers and parents who inform of behavioural problems in adolescents in the general population and b) in those cases in which no agreement is found, to analyse the level of disagreement between each pair of informants for each subscale. Methodology. Cross-sectional and descriptive study Participants. The study was formed by 160 triads of parents, teachers and 13-16 year old adolescents selected from several schools in Barcelona. Instruments. The three forms of the Achenbach scale to measure behavioural alterations were applied. The scale was translated into Spanish by the Unit of Epidemiology and Diagnostic in Psychopathology of the Development of the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona: Youth Self-Report, self-evaluated, Child Behaviour Checklist/4-18 and Teacher's Report Form, both heteroevaluated and completed by parents and teachers, respectively. These three forms contain a 89-item set that evaluates the same behaviour, where eight items are organised in scales of syndromes derived empirically and which are invariant throughout informants. The eight subscales are: withdrawn, somatic complaints, anxious/depressed, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, delinquent behaviour and aggressive behaviour. Some of them are grouped in second order factors: the first three in internalising, the last two in externalising, and the rest of them provide a total problems punctuation. Statistical procedure. Agreement values were analysed for each pair of informants and each subscale through the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC). A value below 0.40 indicates low concordance. In these cases, the statistical analysis proceeds with the discordance analysis by pairs of informants and for each subscale through the Bland Altman Method. Results. A low concordance (below 0.40) between informants was found especially in internalizing scales (0.230). A slightly higher value was found in attention (0.334), aggressive behaviour (0.371), externalizing (0.357), and total subscales (0.327). Secondly, it was observed that, when informing about somatic complains, thought and attention problems, internalising items and the total scale, parents reported more alterations, followed by adolescents and teachers. Also, parents indicated more withdrawal problems in adolescents, although in this case they were followed by teachers and adolescents themselves. Finally, in the evaluation of the anxiety/depression scales, social problems, delinquent behaviour, aggressiveness and externalising conducts, adolescents informed of more alterations followed by their parents, and then by the teachers. Regarding the agreement/disagreement variability throughout the scales scores, the discordance between different informants was higher when the punctuation was further away from normality, generally when the scales were scored higher. Discussion. The normative criteria of comparison and the reference frames for each group of informants are different. For instance, the fact that teachers report less behavioural alterations could be explained because of their familiarity in dealing with adolescents and a higher tolerance towards some behaviors. In general terms, this result fits in with most conclusions from investigations carried out in this field. On the other hand, the fact that parents inform of more internalising problems could be attributed to adolescent behaviour which would in turn alter the family context. Another explanation might be that parents are on the whole more implicated and more sensitive in detecting certain conducts or behavioural alterations in their offspring. In any case, it is disputable whether the lack of concordance between the different informants does really exist or, on the contrary, adolescent behaviour changes depending on the context. Finally, a result contradicting those found in the studies reviewed is that adolescents are the ones who report more externalising problems. Other authors have found that adolescents inform more about internalising problems, something which should be expected taking into account that they are the ones who know themselves better. This could be possibly explained by the presence of more social desirability/undesirability among the adolescents of our sample in front of their pair group when answering to the evaluation scales; this may be due to the group context in which the case was applied. The main limitation of the present study that it was carried out with a general population sample, although from another point of view this may be considered as a gain of the study. We recommend carrying out explicative studies about discordance, which could clarify the predictive validity of each informant group and make variations in the type of sample under study. Conclusions. Data from different sources contribute with specific information of relative validity. This is why a multidimensional, multisituational and mulitiinformant approach is fundamental. This is necessary not only to evaluate behavioural alterations in adolescents within a research context, but also when taking diagnostic decisions in a clinical context, because, depending on the chosen informant, the diagnostic criteria for one disorder or another might change. Also, our results imply that there may be an underdetection of behavioural problems in adolescents by the adults, which would result in a lower psychological demand than the necessary.

¿Explica la esquizotipia la discordancia entre informantes de alteraciones conductuales adolescentes?

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Summary: Introduction. Behavioural alterations are a quite potent predictor for schizophrenia. Very often, apparently healthy adolescents (who will later develop schizophrenia) present altered conducts similar to those manifested by schizophrenic subjects and as predictors for the disorder. There are studies that describe the relationship between these behavioural alterations and the features found in schizotypical personality disorder or schizophrenic symptoms. In this way, it has been established that those subjects who obtain high scores in schizotypy present more behavioural alterations. Concretely, the different behavioural alterations have been differentially related to the positive and negative subtypes of the schizotypical personality, suggesting continuity between the nature of premorbid conducts and the adult symptoms patterns in which the illness develops. On the other hand, comparing adolescents that will later develop schizophrenia with those who will not, it has been found that the best schizophrenia predictor is a poor behavioural adjustment. Moreover, if the teachers' reports are examined, there can be certain aspects such as the early behavioural patterns which will identify children who, for instance, will develop schizophrenia thirty years later, or even differential patterns according to the gender of the subjects. Therefore, if we want to carry out a schizophrenia prediction according to these behavioural criteria, knowing which informants are more useful and how their opinions match among them is of a great interest. Until this moment, the majority of studies have pointed out at the ability of teachers to identify conducts that can be used to select people at risk for schizophrenia. However, having into account that numerous studies conclude that there is a lack of agreement between these and other different informants for behavioural alterations in adolescents, the importance of studying the variables that can be influencing this matter must be raised. Following with the line of our research group a question is raised. We wonder if the presence of schizotypical personality traits makes the adolescents behaviour more ambiguous, with the consequent difficulty to define it in a coincident way from different evaluators and from themselves. Objectives. To analyse the influence of the schizotypical personality (assessed with the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences), the demographic variable gender and the interaction between them, in the discordance of different informants (parents, teachers and adolescents) when they inform about behavioural problems in adolescents (assessed with the Achenbach's scales). Methodology. This is an analytic transversal study that can be framed into a longitudinal study of 2 cohorts from the general population, which started on 2000 and has been then followed-up ("Psychoeducation program and early detection of schizophrenic disorders of adolescent onset"). Participants. 160 triads of parents, teachers and adolescents from 13 to 16 years old selected from 7 schools of Barcelona took part in the study. Instruments. The three forms of the Achenbach scale for the measure of behavioural alterations were applied: Youth Self- Report, Child Behaviour Checklist/4-18 and Teacher's Report Form. These forms contain 8 scales which are invariant throughout informants: Withdrawn, somatic complaints, anxious/depressed, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, delinquent behaviour and aggressive behaviour. Some of them are grouped in second order factors: Internalizing, externalizing and total. To evaluate the psychometrical schizotypical personality of adolescents we used the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory for Feelings and Experiences. It consists of an autoadministered inventory with 159 items that includes four schizotypical scales. The Unusual Experiences scale reflects the positive dimension of schizotypy and includes items of unusual perception aberrations and magical thinking. The Introvert Anhedonia Scale reflects the negative dimension of schizotypy and consists of items assessing restricted affect, social isolation and anhedonia. The Cognitive Disorganization Scale refers to disorganized aspects of the psychosis and it is composed of items assessing difficulties in concentration and decision-making. Finally, the Impulsive Nonconformity Scale reflects the characteristics of impulsive-type personality, social anxiety and maladjusted behaviours. Statistical proceed. Multiple regression analyses were carried out in order to revise the influence of the schizotypical personality, the demographic variable gender and the interaction between them as possible explicative variables, in the discordance between different informants about behavioural problems of adolescents. The dependent variable was a measure of the level of discordance between the three groups of informants. Results. A major discordance between informants of behavioural problems was found as schizotypy was higher. Concretely, a larger number of unusual experiences in adolescents increase the discordance for thought and internalizing problems. Discordance is also higher in aggressiveness and anxiety/depression as cognitive disorganization increases. Also, the higher the introverted anhedonia, the higher the discordance is for social problems, anxiety/depression, attention, externalizing problems, and for the total. To finish, a high score in non-conformity impulsivity increases the discordance for attention, delinquency and aggressive problems. About the influence of gender, discordance between informants for anxiety/depression is higher for females than for males. However, this varies when the interaction effects found are considered. In this way, a differential effect for the increase of non-conformity impulsivity and introvert anhedonia can be observed in males and females. Therefore, discordance between informants is higher when evaluating anxiety/ depression in males when non-conformity impulsivity is high. Just the opposite happens for girls. In addition, the discordance for the internalizing subscale increases just as the introverted anhedonia raises for females, but it decreases when evaluating males. Discussion. It seems clear that no source of data can be substituted for any other when evaluating behavioural problems in adolescents and much less when attention is centred in those adolescents who score high in schizotypy. Specifically, when evaluating the behaviour of those subjects who score high in the positive dimension of schizotypy, the agreement between informants decreases for thought and internalizing problems; and, when the behaviour of those who are defined for a more negative schizotypy is evaluated, the agreement decreases for social problems, anxiety/ depression, externalizing and total. Having all this into account and adding information that other authors have found related to each schizotypy subtype (which, besides, are the ones which more concordance show), some conclusions could be raised. It can be assumed as evident that schizotypical personality (and each trait type) and the subjacent conduct in these subjects can generate a difficulty in perceiving certain conducts which are not predominant in the subject, with the consequent discordance between informants. For future studies, it would be very interesting to carry out studies examined which group of informants augurs the behavioural predisposition for schizophrenia and its dimensions in the most accurately way possible. Conclusions. A most exact and objective method to assess behavioural problems as well-demonstrated predictor to schizophrenia, is necessary in order to select vulnerable teenagers to the illness and to develop programs of early intervention.

Esquizotipia y memoria verbal en población general adolescente / Squizotypy and verbal memory in the adolescent general population

El siguiente trabajo analiza la relación existente entre el déficit de memoria verbal y los rasgos de esquizotipia psicométrica en una población no clínica de sujetos adolescentes. En este estudio transversal analítico participaron 139 estudiantes de Secundaria con edades comprendidas entres los 13 y los 16 años (media= 14,35; Des.Est.= 0,548). Tras pasar las pruebas O-LIFE (esquizotipia psicométrica), TAVEC (memoria verbal) y Subtest del WAIS-III de letras y números (memoria de trabajo), se analizaron los datos realizando correlaciones de Pearson y comparaciones de medias. Los resultados mostraron una ausencia de relación entre las medidas de esquizotipia y memoria de trabajo. En cambio, sí encontramos relaciones significativas entre las dimensiones de esquizotipia y memoria verbal. Nuestros resultados apoyan parcialmente la literatura revisada sobre este tema. Aun así, se sugiere profundizar en el estudio de la esquizotipia psicométrica como marcador de riesgo para la esquizofrenia

The following study examines the relationship between verbal memory deficits and schizotypal traits measured psychometrically from a non- clinical adolescent population. In this transversal analytical study participated 139 subjects. They were secondary school students, with ages ranging from 13 to 16 years old (mean= 14, 35; Sta.Dev.= 0, 548). After administrating the scales O-LIFE (psychometrical schizotypy), CVLT (verbal memory), and Letters and Numbers subtest of WAIS-III (working memory), data was analyzed utilizing Pearson correlations and mean comparison test. Results showed lack of relations between schizotypy measures and working memory. Nonetheless, some of the O-LIFE dimensions correlated with verbal memory. These findings support partly the literature reviewed. Yet, more work focused on schizotypy and cognitive deficits as risk factors are suggested

[Schizotypy and verbal memory in the adolescent general population]. / Esquizotipia y memoria verbal en población general adolescente.

The following study examines the relationship between verbal memory deficits and schizotypal traits measured psychometrically from a non- clinical adolescent population. In this transversal analytical study participated 139 subjects. They were secondary school students, with ages ranging from 13 to 16 years old (mean= 14, 35; Sta.Dev.= 0, 548). After administrating the scales O-LIFE (psychometrical schizotypy), CVLT (verbal memory), and Letters and Numbers subtest of WAIS-III (working memory), data was analyzed utilizing Pearson correlations and mean comparison test. Results showed lack of relations between schizotypy measures and working memory. Nonetheless, some of the O-LIFE dimensions correlated with verbal memory. These findings support partly the literature reviewed. Yet, more work focused on schizotypy and cognitive deficits as risk factors are suggested.