Schizotypy and pathological personality profile in siblings of patients with psychosis

Schizotypy has been proposed to be the expression of the genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia. Schizotypal features have been associated with personality dimensions found in patients with psychosis. In this study, we compared the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology - Basic Questionnaire (DAPP-BQ) scores of patients with psychosis, siblings scoring higher on schizotypy (SSHS), and siblings scoring lower (SSLS). The SSHSs displayed a DAPP-BQ profile characterized by high scores in the dimensions of affective lability, anxiousness, submissiveness, social avoidance, identity problems, oppositionality, narcissism, and restricted expression, distinguishing them from the SSLS. Due to these dimensions, SSHSs are more similar to the patients' DAPP-BQ profile. The results suggest that this pathological personality profile might contribute to increase the risk of developing psychosis in siblings who have more schizotypal features.