A latent profile analysis of schizotypal dimensions: Associations with psychopathology and personality

Childhood Schizotypy and Adolescent Mental Disorder

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS

Schizotypy provides a framework for understanding the developmental nature of psychotic disorders and a means of identifying "at-risk" individuals early in the lifespan. However, there is a lack of prospective longitudinal research examining the relationship between schizotypy in childhood and later psychotic and other mental disorders. We hypothesized that distinct profiles of schizotypy in childhood would be differentially associated with psychotic and other mental disorders emerging later in adolescence.

STUDY DESIGN

In a large population cohort of Australian young people (n = 26 837), we prospectively examined the relationship between person-centered profiles of schizotypy identified in middle childhood (age ~11 years) and adolescent diagnoses (age ~13-18 years) across 7 types of mental disorders using multinomial logistic regression.

RESULTS

Membership in any of 3 childhood schizotypy profiles (true schizotypy, affective schizotypy, or introverted schizotypy) was associated with an increased likelihood of being diagnosed with any type of mental disorder in adolescence; effects were strongest for the true schizotypy group (aOR = 3.07, 95% CI = 2.64, 3.57), followed by the introverted (aOR = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.75, 2.15) and affective (aOR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.13, 1.47) schizotypy groups. Six of the 7 types of mental disorders measured (including psychotic disorders) were associated with at least 1 schizotypy group.

CONCLUSIONS

Schizotypy in middle childhood is an important correlate of mental disorders in adolescence; however, it does not appear to be specifically associated with psychotic disorders in this age group.

Evaluation of the nutrition literacy assessment questionnaire for college students and identification of the influencing factors of their nutrition literacy

BACKGROUND

Nutrition health has become a major public health issue in both high and middle-income countries. Nutrition literacy is an important indicator to evaluate the effect of public health intervention and one of the important concepts in health promotion. Thus, this study aimed to verify the reliability and validity of a nutrition literacy assessment questionnaire (NLAQ) and investigate the associated factors of nutrition literacy among college students.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of college students from April to November 2022 in Wuhan (N = 774). We employed the Cronbach's alpha coefficient, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the reliability and validity. We used latent profile analysis to classify the nutrition literacy. We conducted Chi-square test and binary logistic regression to identify the influencing factors.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the NLAQ and its dimension was ranging from 0.837 to 0.909. The common factors were consistent with the original dimensions. All indicators met the requirements (χ2/df = 6.16 < 8, GFI = 0.929, NFI = 0.939, CFI = 0.948, RMSEA = 0.082 < 0.1). College students' disciplines (χ2 = 7.769, P = 0.021), mothers' education level (χ2 = 26.599, P < 0.001), and fathers' occupation type (χ2 = 11.218, P = 0.024) had impacts on nutrition literacy.

CONCLUSION

The NLAQ has good reliability and validity, and could be used as a measurement tool to evaluate college students' nutrition literacy. Schools and families should take targeted measures to improve the college students' nutrition literacy.

A comparative study of theory of mind in taxon-like clusters of psychometric schizotypes and individuals at genetic risk for schizophrenia

Introduction: Clinical and family studies suggest that alterations of theory of mind (ToM) represent a marker of genetic liability to schizophrenia. Findings regarding ToM in schizotypy are less consistent. The study aimed to explore whether this might be due to an insufficient account of the heterogeneity of schizotypy in prior research and/or the fact that in psychometric schizotypy ToM alterations could manifest as subtle peculiarities rather than overt errors of mentalising.Methods: Individuals without a family history of psychosis (n = 150) were assigned to low, positive, negative, and high mixed schizotypy classes based on a cluster analysis of 1322 subjects who completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. The classes were compared on their performance of faux pas tasks with 77 adult first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients, who represent individuals at genetic risk for schizophrenia. Besides overt errors, subtle alterations in ToM were analysed using expert judgment.Results: The relatives tended to make overt errors and demonstrated specific features of intentional reasoning. None of the schizotypal classes showed similar trends.Conclusions: The results complement the literature on the subjective-objective disjunction in psychometric schizotypes and did not provide evidence that ToM anomalies are a marker of genetic liability to schizophrenia in this cohort.

Anticipated Pleasure and Displeasure for Future Social and nonsocial Events: A Scale Development Study

Background and Hypothesis

People with schizophrenia (SCZ) or schizotypal traits (ST) have difficulties in anticipating future pleasure and displeasure in social situations. However, no self-report scale has been developed to specifically capture these abilities. This study aimed to develop and validate the Social Affective Forecasting Scale (SAFS), and to examine how anticipated pleasure and displeasure are associated with ST and clinical symptoms in SCZ.

Study Design

Study 1 recruited a main sample of 666 college students and a validation sample of 927 college students to complete the SAFS and other measurements for anhedonia. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), parallel analysis, and measurement invariance analysis were conducted. Study 2 recruited 2655 college students, 47 people with SCZ and 47 matched controls to complete the SAFS. Correlation analysis, regression analysis, and independent t-tests were performed.

Study Results

Both EFA and CFA indicated a 4-factor model which was supported by parallel analysis in the validation sample. The SAFS showed good internal consistency, convergent validity, and strong invariance across sex. Interpersonal features of ST and negative symptoms in SCZ were associated with reduced anticipated pleasure for positive social events.

Conclusions

The SAFS appears to be a reliable scale for evaluating anticipated pleasure and displeasure for future social and nonsocial events, and can be applied to study social anhedonia in individuals with ST and individuals with SCZ.

What Is the Optimal Cut-Off Point of the 10-Item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Screening Depression Among Chinese Individuals Aged 45 and Over? An Exploration Using Latent Profile Analysis

Background

The main objective of the current study was to gain insight into the heterogeneity and profiles of depressive symptoms in Chinese individuals aged 45 and over and to determine the optimal cut-off point for the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10) to provide a reference for future practical application.

Methods

The participants were 16,997 Chinese community-dwelling adults aged 45 years or older who completed survey interviews for the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The current study utilised latent profile analysis (LPA) to identify distinct profiles based on participants' responses to CES-D-10 items, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were applied to determine the optimal cut-off point for the CES-D-10 scale.

Results

A three-profile solution was suggested as the optimum and included a "minimal depression" group (63.1%), "mild depression" group (23.4%) and "moderate-severe depression" group (13.5%); 36.9% (95% CI: 36.2 ∼ 37.6%) were considered at risk for probable depression. The "minimal depression" group was viewed as "non-cases," and the remaining were viewed as "cases" that served as the reference standard for the ROC analysis, which obtained an AUC value of 97.8% (95% CI: 97.7-98.0%) and identified an optimal cut-off point of 10 (sensitivity:91.93%, specificity: 92.76%, and accuracy: 92.45).

Conclusion

The identification of these distinct profiles underscores the heterogeneity in depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults. The CES-D-10 scale was demonstrated to have acceptable psychometric properties, with a cut-off point of 10 recommended for future research and practical application.

Developmental profiles of schizotypy in the general population: A record linkage study of Australian children aged 11-12 years

Objectives

The detection of young people at high risk for psychotic disorders has been somewhat narrowly focused on overt symptom‐based markers that reflect mild reality distortion (e.g., psychotic‐like experiences), or prodromal syndromes that are proximal to psychosis onset. The concept of schizotypy represents a broader framework for investigating risk for schizophrenia (and other disorders) in childhood, before the onset of prodromal or overt symptoms. We sought to detect profiles of risk for psychosis (schizotypy) in a general population sample of 22,137 Australian children aged 11–12 years, and to determine early life risk factors associated with these profiles from data available in linked records (registers).

Methods

Fifty‐nine self‐reported items were used as indicators of schizotypy across six broad domains; z‐scores for each domain were subjected to latent profile analyses (LPA). A series of multinomial logistic regressions was used to examine the association between resulting profile (class) membership and several childhood and parental risk factors, and the proportion of children with mental disorders among each schizotypy profile was examined.

Results

The LPA revealed three person‐centred profiles referred to as True Schizotypy (n = 1,323; 6.0%), Introverted Schizotypy (n = 4,473; 20.2%), and Affective Schizotypy (n = 4,261; 19.2%), as well as a group of children showing no risk (n = 12,080; 54.6%). Prior exposure to perinatal and familial adversities including childhood maltreatment, as well as poor early childhood development and academic functioning, was variously associated with all risk groups. There was a higher proportion of childhood mental disorder diagnoses among children in the True Schizotypy group, relative to other profiles.

Conclusion

Subtle differences in the pattern of exposures and antecedents among schizophrenia liability profiles in childhood may reflect distinct pathogenic pathways to psychotic or other mental illness.

Practitioner points

Children aged 11–12 years report characteristics of schizotypy which can be classified into three distinct profiles that may represent different pathological processes towards later mental ill‐health.

Early life exposure to perinatal and familial adversities including childhood maltreatment, early childhood developmental vulnerability, and poor academic functioning predict membership in all three childhood schizotypy profiles.

Latent liability for schizophrenia (and potentially other mental disorders) may be represented by different profiles of functioning observable in childhood.

Mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits relate to physiological arousal from social stress

Schizotypy denotes psychosis-like experiences, such as perceptual aberration, magical ideation, and social anxiety. Altered physiological arousal from social stress is found in people with high schizotypal traits. Two experiments aimed to determine the relationship of schizotypy to physiological arousal from social stress. Experiment 1 tested the hypotheses that heart rate from social stress would be greater in high, than mild-to-moderate, schizotypal traits, and disorganized schizotypy would explain this effect because of distress from disorganisation. Experiment 1 tested social stress in 16 participants with high schizotypal traits and 10 participants with mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits. The social stress test consisted of a public speech and an informal discussion with strangers. The high schizotypal group had a higher heart rate than the mild-to-moderate schizotypal group during the informal discussion with strangers, but not during the public speech. Disorganized schizotypy accounted for this group difference. Experiment 2 tested the hypothesis that mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits would have a linear relationship with physiological arousal from social stress. Experiment 2 tested 24 participants with mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits performing the abovementioned social stress test while their heart rate and skin conductance responses were measured. Mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits had a linear relationship with physiological arousal during the discussion with strangers. Distress in disorganized schizotypy may explain the heightened arousal from close social interaction with strangers in high schizotypy than mild-to-moderate schizotypy. Mild-to-moderate schizotypal traits may have a linear relationship with HR during close social interaction because of difficulty with acclimatizing to the social interaction.

Classification of probable online social networking addiction: A latent profile analysis from a large-scale survey among Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Problematic online social networking use is prevalent among adolescents, but consensus about the instruments and their optimal cut-off points is lacking. This study derived an optimal cut-off point for the validated Online Social Networking Addiction (OSNA) scale to identify probable OSNA cases among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A survey recruited 4,951 adolescent online social networking users. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were applied to the validated 8-item OSNA scale to determine its optimal cut-off point.

RESULTS

The 3-class model was selected by multiple criteria, and validated in a randomly split-half subsample. Accordingly, participants were categorized into the low risk (36.4%), average risk (50.4%), and high risk (13.2%) groups. The highest risk group was regarded as "cases" and the rest as "non-cases", serving as the reference standard in ROC analysis, which identified an optimal cut-off point of 23 (sensitivity: 97.2%, specificity: 95.2%). The cut-off point was used to classify participants into positive (probable case: 17:0%) and negative groups according to their OSNA scores. The positive group (probable cases) reported significantly longer duration and higher intensity of online social networking use, and higher prevalence of Internet addiction than the negative group.

CONCLUSIONS

The classification strategy and results are potentially useful for future research that measure problematic online social networking use and its impact on health among adolescents. The approach can facilitate research that requires cut-off points of screening tools but gold standards are unavailable.

Molecular Genetic Risk for Psychosis Is Associated With Psychosis Risk Symptoms in a Population-Based UK Cohort: Findings From Generation Scotland

OBJECTIVE

Subthreshold psychosis risk symptoms in the general population may be associated with molecular genetic risk for psychosis. This study sought to optimize the association of risk symptoms with genetic risk for psychosis in a large population-based cohort in the UK (N = 9104 individuals 18-65 years of age) by properly accounting for population stratification, factor structure, and sex.

METHODS

The newly expanded Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study includes 5391 females and 3713 males with age M [SD] = 45.2 [13] with both risk symptom data and genetic data. Subthreshold psychosis symptoms were measured using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) and calculation of polygenic risk for schizophrenia was based on 11 425 349 imputed common genetic variants passing quality control. Follow-up examination of other genetic risks included attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, bipolar disorder, major depression, and neuroticism.

RESULTS

Empirically derived symptom factor scores reflected interpersonal/negative symptoms and were positively associated with polygenic risk for schizophrenia. This signal was largely sex specific and limited to males. Across both sexes, scores were positively associated with neuroticism and major depressive disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

A data-driven phenotypic analysis enabled detection of association with genetic risk for schizophrenia in a population-based sample. Multiple polygenic risk signals and important sex differences suggest that genetic data may be useful in improving future phenotypic risk assessment.

Identifying extended psychosis phenotypes at school: Associations with socio-emotional adjustment, academic, and neurocognitive outcomes

The main goal of the present study was to explore the latent structure of extended psychosis phenotypes in a representative sample of adolescents. Moreover, associations with socio-emotional adjustment, academic achievement, and neurocognition performance across the latent profiles were compared. Participants were 1506 students, 667 males (44.3%), derived from random cluster sampling. Various tools were used to measure psychosis risk, subjective well-being, academic performance, and neurocognition. Based on three psychometric indicators of psychosis risk (schizotypal traits, psychotic-like experiences, and bipolar-like experiences), four latent classes were found: non-risk, low-risk, high reality distortion experiences, and high psychosis liability. The high-risk latent groups scored significantly higher on mental health difficulties, and negative affect, and lower on positive affect and well-being, compared to the two non-risk groups. Moreover, these high-risk groups had a significantly higher number of failed academic subjects compared to the non-risk groups. In addition, no statistically significant differences in efficiency performance were found in the neurocognitive domains across the four latent profiles. This study allows us to improve the early identification of adolescents at risk of serious mental disorder in school settings in order to prevent the incidence and burden associated with these kinds of mental health problems.

Classification of probable online social networking addiction: A latent profile analysis from a large-scale survey among Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Problematic online social networking use is prevalent among adolescents, but consensus about the instruments and their optimal cut-off points is lacking. This study derived an optimal cut-off point for the validated Online Social Networking Addiction (OSNA) scale to identify probable OSNA cases among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A survey recruited 4,951 adolescent online social networking users. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analyses were applied to the validated 8-item OSNA scale to determine its optimal cut-off point.

RESULTS

The 3-class model was selected by multiple criteria, and validated in a randomly split-half subsample. Accordingly, participants were categorized into the low risk (36.4%), average risk (50.4%), and high risk (13.2%) groups. The highest risk group was regarded as "cases" and the rest as "non-cases", serving as the reference standard in ROC analysis, which identified an optimal cut-off point of 23 (sensitivity: 97.2%, specificity: 95.2%). The cut-off point was used to classify participants into positive (probable case: 17:0%) and negative groups according to their OSNA scores. The positive group (probable cases) reported significantly longer duration and higher intensity of online social networking use, and higher prevalence of Internet addiction than the negative group.

CONCLUSIONS

The classification strategy and results are potentially useful for future research that measure problematic online social networking use and its impact on health among adolescents. The approach can facilitate research that requires cut-off points of screening tools but gold standards are unavailable.

A meta-analysis of self-reported anticipatory and consummatory pleasure in the schizophrenia-spectrum

OBJECTIVE

Recent conceptual frameworks propose anhedonia reflects abnormalities in the temporal dynamics of positive emotion in schizophrenia, characterized by intact consummatory and impaired anticipatory pleasure. A comprehensive meta-analysis can directly test this theory using self-report data.

METHOD

A meta-analysis was performed on studies reporting Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS) data from healthy controls and schizophrenia or schizotypy groups. The TEPS was examined as it contains subscales to measure both consummatory and anticipatory pleasure separately. Statistical heterogeneity and study bias were examined. Meta-regressions evaluated moderators.

RESULTS

53 studies were retrieved (7,797 participants). Results revealed small effect sizes for comparisons of combined schizophrenia/schizotypy and control groups for both consummatory and anticipatory pleasure. Within-group comparisons of pleasure conditions were nonsignificant. The percentage of male schizophrenia/schizotypy participants significantly moderated anticipatory and consummatory pleasure for the combined sample and schizotypy alone; male participants were found to report reduced pleasure. There was only minor evidence of bias; sensitivity analysis confirmed result robustness. Exploratory outlier removal for schizophrenia within-group pleasure comparisons revealed a statistically significant difference between reported anticipatory and consummatory pleasure, with consummatory pleasure reduced relative to anticipatory (i.e., in the opposite direction of the majority of experimental research findings).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings provided only modest support for the temporal dynamics of positive emotion conceptualization because they revealed no evidence for: 1) specific anticipatory pleasure deficits in schizophrenia-spectrum participants compared to controls; 2) significant reductions in anticipatory pleasure relative to consummatory pleasure in schizophrenia-spectrum participants.

Latent profile analysis of psychosis liability in a community-derived sample of adolescents: Links with mental health difficulties, suicidal ideation, bipolar-like experiences and psychotic-like experiences

AIM

The main goal of the present study was to explore the latent structure of schizotypy as an indicator of psychosis liability, in a community-derived sample of adolescents. Links to mental health difficulties, prosocial behaviour, suicidal ideation, bipolar-like experiences and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) (severity and distress) were compared across schizotypy latent profiles.

METHOD

The present research included 1588 adolescents selected by a stratified random cluster sampling. The Oviedo Schizotypy Assessment Questionnaire (ESQUIZO-Q), The Paykel Suicide Scale (PSS), The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), The Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B), The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), The Penn Matrix Reasoning Test (PMRT), The Family Affluence Scale-II (FAS-II), and The Oviedo Infrequency Scale (INF-OV) were used.

RESULTS

Using latent profile analysis four latent classes (LC) were identified: "Positive schizotypy" (14.1%, n = 224), "Low schizotypy" (51.9%, n = 825), "Social Disorganization schizotypy" (27.2%, n = 432), and "High schizotypy" (6.7%, n = 107). The "High schizotypy" class scored higher on several psychometric indicators of psychopathology (ie, mental health difficulties, suicide ideation, bipolar-like experiences and PLEs) relative to the other three LC.

CONCLUSION

Four groups of adolescents with different patterns of schizotypal traits and different clinical-pathological meaning were found. Deficits found across schizotypy latent profiles, resembling those found in patients with psychosis and ultra-high risk samples. The identification of homogeneous subgroups of adolescents potentially at risk for psychosis may help us in the prevention of psychotic-spectrum disorders and mental health problems.

Latent profile analysis of anxiety disorder among left-behind children in rural Southern China: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

Previous studies have used latent profile analysis (LPA) to examine rural left-behind children's anxiety. Further study is needed to identify the heterogeneous characteristics of rural left-behind children's anxiety and explore the related factors.

SETTING

A cross-sectional survey using a school-based sample was conducted in January 2018 in Qingxin district, Qingyuan city, Guangdong province.

PARTICIPANTS

1026 left-behind children (effective response rate of the questionnaire: 95.39%).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Profile latent classes (LC) and anxiety disorder.

RESULTS

The LPA identified three anxiety LC: 'low anxiety' (56.6%), 'medium anxiety' (34.8%) and 'severe anxiety' (8.6%). The multinomial logistic regression model was used to predict the relationship between personal, family, school factors and anxiety. We found that the variables directly related to lower anxiety classes included age (12-14 years), harmonious or fair relationship with classmates, no neglect, harmonious parental relationship and the duration of mother migration <6 months.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggested the need for careful consideration of differences in anxieties among rural left-behind children. Identifying latent subgroups may provide an empirical basis for teachers and public health practitioners to implement anxiety intervention efforts.

Differential emotional abnormalities among schizotypy clusters

Schizotypy, a multidimensional personality organization that reflects liability to develop schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, has been associated with a number of emotional abnormalities. Yet, the exact nature of any emotional abnormalities in schizotypy is relatively unclear. Using an ethnically diverse nonclinical sample (N = 2637), the present study identified homogenous clusters of individuals based on positive and negative schizotypy dimensions and explored three interrelated domains of emotion traits closely tied to functional outcomes and quality of life: affective experience, emotional awareness, and meta-level emotions. Consistent with prior research, four schizotypy clusters were obtained: low ("nonschizotypic"), high positive, high negative, and mixed (high positive and high negative). Regarding emotion correlates of schizotypy clusters, the mixed cluster was found to be the most deviant on almost all emotion traits (e.g., heightened trait negative affect, diminished emotional clarity), suggesting that the effects of positive and negative schizotypy are additive. In addition, positive and negative schizotypy clusters were associated with differential abnormalities, with the negative cluster presenting a wider range of, and more severe, impairments compared to the low cluster (e.g., reduced trait positive affect and reduced attention to positive emotion). The current study highlights the heterogeneity in emotional traits among schizotypy dimensions and the importance of studying the mixed schizotypy in terms of emotional dysfunction.

Enhancing Psychosis-Spectrum Nosology Through an International Data Sharing Initiative

The latent structure of schizotypy and psychosis-spectrum symptoms remains poorly understood. Furthermore, molecular genetic substrates are poorly defined, largely due to the substantial resources required to collect rich phenotypic data across diverse populations. Sample sizes of phenotypic studies are often insufficient for advanced structural equation modeling approaches. In the last 50 years, efforts in both psychiatry and psychological science have moved toward (1) a dimensional model of psychopathology (eg, the current Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology [HiTOP] initiative), (2) an integration of methods and measures across traits and units of analysis (eg, the RDoC initiative), and (3) powerful, impactful study designs maximizing sample size to detect subtle genomic variation relating to complex traits (the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium [PGC]). These movements are important to the future study of the psychosis spectrum, and to resolving heterogeneity with respect to instrument and population. The International Consortium of Schizotypy Research is composed of over 40 laboratories in 12 countries, and to date, members have compiled a body of schizotypy- and psychosis-related phenotype data from more than 30000 individuals. It has become apparent that compiling data into a protected, relational database and crowdsourcing analytic and data science expertise will result in significant enhancement of current research on the structure and biological substrates of the psychosis spectrum. The authors present a data-sharing infrastructure similar to that of the PGC, and a resource-sharing infrastructure similar to that of HiTOP. This report details the rationale and benefits of the phenotypic data collective and presents an open invitation for participation.

Schizotypal traits and their relation to rejection sensitivity in the general population: Their mediation by quality of life, agreeableness and neuroticism

Schizotypal traits are a cluster of personality styles suggesting a potential liability for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Interpersonal schizotypal traits include cognitive disorganisation which consists of social anxiety, and introvertive anhedonia which consists of a lack of pleasure in social activities. Rejection sensitivity is evident all along this continuum. This study aimed to determine whether psychosocial quality of life (QOL), neuroticism and agreeableness mediates the relation between schizotypy and rejection sensitivity. Three hundred and eighteen participants from a predominantly University student population completed an online survey measuring schizotypy, rejection sensitivity, quality of life, and the five-factor personality traits. A regression analysis determined the prediction of rejection sensitivity by schizotypy, quality of life, and the five personality traits. Analyses examined the mediation of the relation between interpersonal schizotypy and rejection sensitivity by psychological QOL, social QOL, neuroticism, and agreeableness. Cognitive disorganisation and introvertive anhedonia predicted greater rejection sensitivity, which in turn were mediated by psychological QOL, social QOL, neuroticism, and agreeableness. The findings show that interpersonal schizotypy relates to greater rejection sensitivity. Psychosocial factors that lower one's ability to have positive feelings, trusting relationships, and prosocial behaviour, and personality traits that increase worrying mediate this association.

Cluster analysis reveals subclinical subgroups with shared autistic and schizotypal traits

Autism and schizophrenia spectrum research is typically based on coarse diagnostic classification, which overlooks individual variation within clinical groups. This method limits the identification of underlying cognitive, genetic and neural correlates of specific symptom dimensions. This study, therefore, aimed to identify homogenous subclinical subgroups of specific autistic and schizotypal traits dimensions, that may be utilised to establish more effective diagnostic and treatment practices. Latent profile analysis of subscale scores derived from an autism-schizotypy questionnaire, completed by 1678 subclinical adults aged 18-40 years (1250 females), identified a local optimum of eight population clusters: High, Moderate and Low Psychosocial Difficulties; High, Moderate and Low Autism-Schizotypy; High Psychosis-Proneness; and Moderate Schizotypy. These subgroups represent the convergent and discriminant dimensions of autism and schizotypy in the subclinical population, and highlight the importance of examining subgroups of specific symptom characteristics across these spectra in order to identify the underlying genetic and neural correlates that can be utilised to advance diagnostic and treatment practices.