Development of schizotypal symptoms following psychiatric disorders in childhood or adolescence

• Published in: European child & adolescent psychiatry Vol. 22; no. 11; pp. 683 - 692
• Main Authors: Fagel, Selene S. A. A., Swaab, Hanna, De Sonneville, Leo M. J., Van Rijn, Sophie, Pieterse, Jolijn K., Scheepers, Floor, Van Engeland, Herman
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.11.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Adult; Adults; Anxiety; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - complications; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - psychology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Child; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Child Behavior Disorders - complications; Child development; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - complications; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology; Female; Gender identity; Gender identity disorder; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Netherlands; Original Contribution; Participation; Pathology; Personality Assessment; Personality Inventory; Pervasive developmental disorders; Psychiatric disorders; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Psychosis; Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia - complications; Schizophrenia - diagnosis; Schizotypal Personality Disorder - diagnosis; Schizotypal Personality Disorder - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms; Young Adult; Netherlands; Juvenile psychiatric disorders; Psychopathology; Developmental problems; Schizotypal symptoms
• ISSN: 1018-8827; 1435-165X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00787-013-0409-7

It was examined how juvenile psychiatric disorders and adult schizotypal symptoms are associated. 731 patients of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands, with mean age of 12.1 years (SD = 4.0) were reassessed at the mean age of 27.9 years (SD = 5.7) for adult schizotypal symptoms using the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Revised (Vollema, Schizophr Bull 26(3):565–575, 2000 ). Differences between 13 juvenile DSM categories and normal controls ( n  = 80) on adult schizotypal total and factor scores were analyzed, using (M)ANCOVA. Pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), deferred diagnosis, sexual and gender identity disorders and depressive disorders had higher SPQ total scores when compared to normal controls ( p  < 0.001). Higher levels of disorganized schizotypal symptoms were found for PDD, ADHD, and deferred diagnosis ( p  < 0.001). The same diagnostic groups showed higher level of negative schizotypal symptoms, which was likewise true for sexual and gender identity disorders, depressive disorders, disruptive disorders, and the category of ‘Other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention’ ( p  < 0.001). No differences with normal controls were found for adult positive schizotypal symptoms ( p  < 0.110). The current findings are suggestive of the idea that psychiatric disorders in childhood or adolescence are a more general expression of a liability to schizophrenia spectrum pathology in future life. In addition, specific patterns of adult schizotypal symptomatology are associated with different types of juvenile psychiatric disorder.