Theory of mind performance and prefrontal connectivity in adolescents at clinical high risk for psychosis

Detection of clinical high risk for psychosis in child and adolescent mental health services: Validation of the first step with the French versions of the Prodromal Questionnaire (fPQ-16) and scale of Perceptual and Cognitive Aberrations (fPCA)

AIM

To validate the French versions of the 16-items Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) and the 9-items scale of Perceptual and Cognitive Aberrations (PCA) to facilitate screening of psychosis risk in native French-speaking young individuals referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

METHOD

Participants (N = 87, age range 10-18 years) were diagnosed with a non-psychotic disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The French versions of the PQ-16 and PCA were developed using a forward-backward translation procedure. Psychometric properties were tested including (i) internal validity with Pearson correlations and Cronbach's coefficients, and (ii) external validity by correlations with each other's.

RESULTS

(i) Correlations between fPQ-16 and fPCA total scores and individual items were mostly >.4. Cronbach's coefficients were .80 for the fPQ-16 and .61 for the fPCA. (ii) The fPQ-16 and fPCA total scores were significantly correlated with a large effect size (r_s  = 0.66).

CONCLUSION

The fPQ-16 and the fPCA are psychometrically acceptable instruments for the screening of potential psychotic symptoms in French-speaking children and young adolescents under 18 years old referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia and their relationship with cognitive and emotional executive functions

BACKGROUND

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with significant difficulties in daily functioning, and these difficulties have been associated with impaired executive functions (EEFF). However, specific cognitive and socio-emotional executive deficits have not been fully established.

OBJECTIVE

The present study has several objectives. First, we aimed to examine the specific deficits in cognitive and socio-emotional EEFF in a group of patients with schizophrenia with a predominance of positive symptoms, as well as to determine if these patients present clinically significant scores in any of the three fronto-subcortical behavioral syndromes: Dorsolateral, Orbitofrontal, or Anterior Cingulate.

METHOD

The sample consisted of 54 patients, 27 with a predominance of positive symptoms, and 27 healthy controls matched for gender, age, and education. The two groups completed four cognitive and three socio-emotional EEFF tasks. In the group of patients, positive symptoms were evaluated using the scale for the Evaluation of Positive Symptoms (SANS), while the behavioral alterations associated with the three fronto-subcortical syndromes were evaluated using the Frontal System Behavior Scale (FrSBe).

RESULTS

The patients, in comparison with a control group, presented specific deficits in cognitive and socio-emotional EEFF. In addition, a high percentage of patients presented clinically significant scores on the three fronto-subcortical syndromes.

CONCLUSION

The affectation that these patients present, in terms of both cognitive and emotional components, highlights the importance of developing a neuropsychological EEFF intervention that promotes the recovery of the affected cognitive capacities and improves the social and emotional functioning of the affected patients.