Schizotypy and personality profiles of Cluster A in a group of schizophrenic patients and their siblings

BMC Psychiatry

Research Article

Massimo Biondi¹  Fabio Di Fabio¹  Carla Salerno¹  Chiara Squarcione¹  Alessia Mirigliani²  Maria Chiara Torti³  Antonino Buzzanca⁴ 

[1] Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università 30, 00185, Rome, Italy;Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università 30, 00185, Rome, Italy;Department of Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università 30, 00185, Rome, Italy;Department of Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università 30, 00185, Rome, Italy;Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy;

关键词: Schizotypy;    Schizophrenia;    SWAP-200;    Personality disorders;    First-degree relatives;    Siblings;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-244X-13-245

 received in 2013-04-08, accepted in 2013-10-03,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSchizotypy, or the set of personality traits related to schizophrenia, is considered an endophenotypic manifestation that is more represented in first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia than in the general population. The assessment of schizotypy is primarily based on self-reports, and for this reason it presents several limitations. In order to assess schizotypy, this study proposes a diagnostic instrument based on clinical reports.MethodsA sample of 66 subjects, composed of 25 outpatients with schizophrenia, 18 siblings of these patients and 23 healthy controls, was subjected to the personality assessment test SWAP-200 by trained clinical interviewers. To test the hypothesis of the difference between the profiles of the Personality Disorders within the schizophrenia spectrum, a Multivariate Analysis of Variance and subsequent planned comparisons were conducted.ResultsPatients with schizophrenia scored higher than both their siblings and the controls on all SWAP-200 scales; their siblings, compared to the healthy controls, showed significant statistical differences, with higher mean scores for paranoid (F(1,63) = 7.02; p = 0.01), schizoid (F(1,63) = 6.56; p = 0.013) and schizotypal (F(1,63) = 6.47; p = 0.013) traits (PD T scores of Cluster A and Q-factor scores for the schizoid scale [F(1,63) = 6.47; p = 0.013]).ConclusionsConsistent with previous data, first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia scored higher on schizophrenia-related personality traits than a general population comparison sample. SWAP-200, as an alternative diagnostic instrument to self-report measures, is able to reveal the higher prevalence of schizotypal traits in siblings of patients with schizophrenia, suggesting its possible use as a complementary instrument for the assessment of schizophrenia.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Torti et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013