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Ozdemir E, MacBeth A, Griffiths H. Pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience: A structural equation approach to mentalization model. Psychol Psychother 2024; 97:157-172. [PMID: 37811853 DOI: 10.1111/papt.12503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 09/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between affective disturbances and aberrant salience in the context of childhood trauma, attachment, and mentalization in an analogue study. METHODS Using a cross-sectional design, an online community sample completed self-report measures of key variables. Structural equation modelling was used to test childhood trauma's influence on aberrant salience via a set of intermediate risk factors (depression, negative schizotypy, and insecure attachment). These intermediate risk factors were assumed to lead to the proximal risk factors of aberrant salience (i.e., disorganized schizotypy and disorganized attachment) depending on the vulnerability of mentalizing capacity to elevated stress. RESULTS The sample (N = 1263) was 78% female and aged between 18 and 35 years. The tested models closely fitted the observed data, revealing significant pathways from childhood trauma to aberrant salience via the hypothesized pathways. The direct effect of childhood trauma on aberrant salience was significant. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that the pathway to aberrant salience may be characterized by disorganization of self-state and intersubjectivity as a function of diminishment in mentalizing ability. This may relate to changes in attachment organization and socio-cognitive capacity, which could constitute possible risk factors signalling development of aberrant salience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ercan Ozdemir
- Section of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Angus MacBeth
- Section of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Helen Griffiths
- Section of Clinical Psychology, School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Sahakyan L, Wahlheim CN, Kwapil TR. Mnemonic discrimination deficits in multidimensional schizotypy. Hippocampus 2023; 33:1139-1153. [PMID: 37345675 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Current developmental psychopathology models indicate that schizophrenia can be understood as the most extreme expression of a multidimensional continuum of symptoms and impairment referred to as schizotypy. In nondisordered adults, schizotypy predicts risk for developing schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology. Schizophrenia is associated with disruptions in detecting subtle differences between objects, which is linked to hippocampal dysfunction. These disruptions have been shown in the Mnemonic Similarity Task (MST) when patients are less likely to reject lures that are similar but not identical to studied objects, and instead mistake them for studied items. This pattern of errors may be a behavioral manifestation of impaired pattern separation, a key episodic memory ability associated with hippocampal integrity and overreliance on pattern completion. We examined whether multidimensional schizotypy is associated with such deficits in nondisordered young adults. Participants (n = 230) were assessed for positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy and completed the MST and a perceptual discrimination task. MST performance showed that a combination of elevated negative and disorganized schizotypy was associated with decreased rejections of similar lures because they were mistakenly identified as studied items. These deficits were not observed in traditional recognition measures within the same task, nor in perceptual discrimination, suggesting that mnemonic discrimination deficits assessed by MST were selective and did not reflect generalized deficits. These findings extend the results obtained in schizophrenia patients and support a multidimensional model of schizophrenia-spectrum psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lili Sahakyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, Illinois, USA
| | - Christopher N Wahlheim
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
| | - Thomas R Kwapil
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
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El Maouch M, Wang Y, Jin Z, Tamunang Tamutana T, Zhao K, Liu Y. Activity system, schizotypal personality, and mentalization: A study between halted activity and COVID-19 conducted in Henan, China. Front Public Health 2022; 10:930842. [PMID: 36016891 PMCID: PMC9396303 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.930842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The pandemic-related lifestyle has potentially imposed crucial disturbances on daily and long-term activities, which, in turn, were associated with thought disturbance. This study investigates how the characteristics of the activity system during pandemic-related restrictions are associated with other psychomental aspects. By focusing on PTSD, mentalization, and schizotypal personality, and by inquiring about the main components of the activity system of 852 college students (Zhengzhou, Henan, China)- including the goals orienting their activity, goals' terms and types, the motivation levels and sources, the activity type and engagement time, the flow of the activity, and how due to pandemic lifestyle-results revealed that the activity system's components have significant associations with PTSD, reflective function, and schizotypal traits. Additionally, some of the activity system's elements have a significant predictive role regarding schizotypal traits. The study considered that the life narrative during the pandemic has been disturbed; hence, this may have a crucial effect on mind coherence. Additionally, the outcomes from the pandemic context will support mental health interventions in other similar contexts where the life narrative is severely affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamad El Maouch
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Psychological Data Science, Zhengzhou Normal University, Zhengzhou, China,*Correspondence: Mohamad El Maouch
| | - Yile Wang
- Department of Journalism Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Zheng Jin
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Psychological Data Science, Zhengzhou Normal University, Zhengzhou, China,Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Timothy Tamunang Tamutana
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Psychological Data Science, Zhengzhou Normal University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Kaibin Zhao
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Psychological Data Science, Zhengzhou Normal University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yu Liu
- Henan International Joint Laboratory of Psychological Data Science, Zhengzhou Normal University, Zhengzhou, China
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Kemp KC, Raulin ML, Burgin CJ, Barrantes-Vidal N, Kwapil TR. Associations of Multiple Measures of Openness to Experience with a Brief Questionnaire of Positive, Negative, and Disorganized Schizotypy. JOURNAL OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/1614-0001/a000348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. The vulnerability for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders is expressed across a continuum of clinical and subclinical symptoms and impairment known as schizotypy. Schizotypy is a multidimensional construct with positive, negative, and disorganized dimensions. Openness to experience offers a useful personality domain for exploring multidimensional schizotypy. This study examined the factor structure of openness and its relation to schizotypy using the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief (MSS-B) in a sample of 2,236 adults. Positive schizotypy was broadly associated with elevated openness and negative schizotypy was generally associated with diminished openness. Principal components analysis of 15 openness facets replicated the four-factor structure of openness including Fantasy/Feelings, Eccentricity, Nontraditionalism, and Ideas factors. All three schizotypy dimensions were associated with Eccentricity. Positive schizotypy was associated with Fantasy/Feelings, whereas negative schizotypy was inversely associated with Fantasy/Feelings. Results support the construct validity of the MSS-B, use of alternative openness measures in examining schizotypy, and the multidimensional structures of schizotypy and openness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn C. Kemp
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
| | | | - Chris J. Burgin
- Department of Counseling & Psychology, Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville, TN, USA
| | - Neus Barrantes-Vidal
- Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
| | - Thomas R. Kwapil
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA
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Torrecilla P, Barrantes-Vidal N. Examining the Relationship Between Hair Cortisol With Stress-Related and Transdiagnostic Subclinical Measures. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:746155. [PMID: 34858226 PMCID: PMC8631911 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.746155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) provide a retrospective examination of long-term cortisol production as a measure of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning, one of the major neural systems implicated in mediating the effects of stress on mental illness. However, evidence about the relationship between HCC with stressors and symptoms is scattered. In the present study, we aimed to examine the association between HCC and a wide range of stress-related and transdiagnostic subclinical measures in a sample of non-clinical young adults with a wide distribution of schizotypy. Methods: A total sample of 132 non-clinical young adults recruited at college and technical schools oversampled for schizotypy scores were assessed on distal and proximal stressful experiences, appraisals of stress, traits and symptoms of the affective, psychosis and dissociation spectrums, as well as stress-buffering measures, and provided 3 cm-hair samples. Results: No significant associations were found between HCC and any of the stress-related and subclinical measures. Only suspiciousness and disorganization showed a trend for a positive association with HCC but the magnitude was small. Conclusions: The present findings support previous studies indicating an overall lack of concordance between a broad range of stress-related and (sub)clinical phenotypic measures with hair cortisol. This study examined for the first time the relationship of HCC with the non-clinical expression of the psychosis spectrum, that is, schizotypy, which complements previous studies on clinical high risk and established psychosis and offers a promising strategy for studying possible HPA dysfunctions characterizing the subclinical psychosis continuum without the confounds associated to clinical psychosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Torrecilla
- Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Facultat de Psicologia, Edifici B, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Neus Barrantes-Vidal
- Departament de Psicologia Clínica i de la Salut, Facultat de Psicologia, Edifici B, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Departament de Salut Mental, Sant Pere Claver—Fundació Sanitària, Barcelona, Spain
- Centre for Biomedical Research in Mental Health (CIBERSAM), Madrid, Spain
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Georgiou N, Delfabbro P, Balzan R. Autistic traits as a potential confounding factor in the relationship between schizotypy and conspiracy beliefs. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2021; 26:273-292. [PMID: 33970807 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2021.1924650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Conspiracy Theories (CT) are complex belief systems that view the world as being manipulated by multiple actors collaborating in the pursuit of malevolent goals. Although culture, education and sociological factors have been implicated in their development, psychological factors are recognized as important. Certain individual differences, including schizotypy and cognitive processing style, have been shown to make some individuals susceptible to CTs. However, the finding that schizotypy often co-occurs with autism spectrum disorder raises a question as to the relative and potentially confounding role of autistic traits in increasing vulnerability to CT beliefs. METHOD A total of 508 adults were recruited from an international online panel. The study included measures of conspiracy beliefs, schizotypy and autistic traits as well as measures of information searching and cognitive style. RESULTS The results confirmed that both autistic and schizotypy traits were positively associated with CT beliefs, but that schizotypy traits were the strongest predictor. Exploratory analyses of cognitive style measures indicated potential avenues for further investigation in relation in differences in cognitive processes that might underlie the development of CTs for in people with autistic traits as opposed to schizotypal traits. LIMITATIONS The study was based on a self-report methodology and did not utilise a clinical sample. CONCLUSION Both schizotypal and autistic traits are reliable predictors of conspiracy beliefs, but schizotypy appears to be the stronger predictor and that autistic traits are not a strong confounding factor in this relationship. However, autistic traits may pose an additional risk factor for CT beliefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neophytos Georgiou
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, School of Psychology, University of Adelaide
| | - Paul Delfabbro
- Faculty of Health and Medical Science, School of Psychology, University of Adelaide
| | - Ryan Balzan
- College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University
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