Sex differences in schizotypal personality in a nonclinical population.

This study tests the hypothesis that normal women will score higher on the more "positive" features of schizotypal personality and normal men will score higher on more "negative" schizotypal features. Two samples (n = 393, 394) were administered the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, which contains subscales corresponding to the 9 schizotypal personality traits outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (rev. 3rd ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1987). Women scored significantly higher on the positive subscales of Ideas of Reference and Odd Beliefs/Magical Thinking, and men scored significantly higher on the negative subscales of No Close Friends and Constricted Affect. These findings replicated from one sample to another. These results are broadly consistent with previous findings on schizotypal personality and schizophrenia. It is hypothesized that sex differences in schizophrenic symptomatology may in part reflect an exaggeration of normal sex differences in the general population.     

Handedness, emotional problems, and schizotypy

The purpose of this study was to analyse the relationship between emotional or behavioural problems and schizotypy. An assessment of handedness and schizotypal personality traits were also performed by means of the Thinking and Perceptual Style Questionnaire, the Multidimensional Schizotypal Traits Questionnaire, the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory, and the Youth Self-Report. The sample comprised 296 participants with a mean age of 13.8 and a standard deviation of 1.34. Data indicate that adolescents with high scores on psychometric factors of schizotypy displayed higher patterns of problem behaviours as well as a significant difference in all the core factors of the Youth Self-Report, compared to those who scored low on these measures. Discriminant analysis showed that the core factors of the Youth Self-Report correctly classified 84% of the adolescents with high or low scores on psychometric schizotypy. Lastly, no significant association between the factors of schizotypy and left-handedness, right-handedness, or mixed-handedness was found.     

Reliability and sources of validity evidence of the Oviedo Schizotypy Assessment Questionnaire-Abbreviated (ESQUIZO-Q-A)

The main goal of this research was to examine the reliability and different sources of validity evidence of the Oviedo Schizotypy Assessment Questionnaire-Abbreviated (ESQUIZO-Q-A) in nonclinical adolescents. The final sample was made up of 1,455 participants, 705 males (48.5%), with a mean age of 15.92 years (SD = 1.18). The internal consistency of the subscales ranged from .62 to .75. The analysis of its internal structure yielded a three-dimensional solution based on the dimensions: Reality Distortion, Anhedonia, and Interpersonal Disorganization. Likewise, the goodness-of-fit indices derived from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis for the hypothesized three-factor model were adequate. The three dimensions of the ESQUIZO-Q-A were significantly correlated with the subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The ESQUIZO-Q is a brief and simple self-report with adequate psychometric properties for the assessment of schizotypal traits in nonclinical adolescent populations. Future research should continue to explore the metric quality of the ESQUIZO-Q-A (e.g., sensitivity and specificity) and incorporate the new advances in psychological and educational assessment such as Computerized Adaptive Testing.     

Sex differences in the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief among Japanese employees and undergraduates: A cross-sectional study

Schizotypal personality may be seen as an indicator predisposition to schizophrenia and psychosis proneness. Schizotypal personality traits behave differently depending on a person’s age and sex, but few studies have examined the causal relationship between age-related sex differences and schizotypal personality traits. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between the schizotypal personality and sex in different age groups. In our study, we used the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief (SPQ-B). Participants were 371 college students (107 men) with an age range from 18 to 25 years, and 322 working people (156 men) with an age range of 22–67 years. The results showed that the young adult males in the college student group had tendencies to score higher than females in the same group on the SPQ-B total score and its two subscale scores (the cognitive-perceptual and the interpersonal scores). In the adult sample taken in the working people group, the total score and subscale scores of the SPQ-B did not significantly discriminate male subjects from female subjects. These findings indicate that sex differences of schizotypal personality traits may reflect differential age-related variation.     

Stability and predictors of psychopathic traits from mid‐adolescence through early adulthood

High levels of psychopathic traits in youth are associated with multiple negative outcomes including substance misuse, aggressive behavior, and criminality. Evidence regarding stability of psychopathic traits is contradictory. No previous study has examined long‐term stability of psychopathic traits assessed with validated clinical measures. The present study examined the stability of psychopathic traits from mid‐adolescence to early adulthood and explored adolescent factors that predicted psychopathic traits five years later. The sample included 99 women and 81 men who had consulted a clinic for substance misuse in adolescence. At an average age of 16.8 years, the adolescents were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) and five years later using the PCL‐Revised (PCL‐R). Additionally, extensive clinical assessments of the adolescents and their parents were completed in mid‐adolescence. Among both females and males, moderate to high rank‐order stability was observed for total PCL and facet scores. Among both females and males, there was a decrease in the mean total PCL score, interpersonal facet score, affective facet score, and lifestyle facet score. However, the great majority of females and males showed no change in psychopathy scores over the five‐year period as indicated by the Reliable Change Index. Despite the measures of multiple family and individual factors in adolescence, only aggressive behavior and male sex predicted PCL‐R total scores in early adulthood after taking account of PCL:YV scores. Taken together, these results from a sample who engaged in antisocial behavior in adolescence suggest that factors promoting high psychopathy scores act early in life.     

Gender differences in the structure and support characteristics of black adolescents' social networks

This study explores gender differences in the social network characteristics of 390 Black American adolescents with a mean age of 14.8 Each adolescent completed the Social Network Record (SNR), which yields scores representing the organizational/demographic structure and the quality of emotional support in the network. It was hypothesized that males and females would construct different network profiles. Gender differences in both structural and support characteristics were found. Females indicated that they had more frequent contact with network members, that their network was on average slightly older, and that they tended to see network members in more private settings. Females also estimated that they know more people than males, although there were no differences between males and females in the actual number of network members listed and described. Males were much more likely to report having larger groups of intimate friends than did females. While females tended to nominate family members as role models and were more likely to indicate feeling close to both male and female peers, males indicated overwhelmingly that they felt close to male peers. The differences indicate that male and female adolescents experience very differently structured forms of social support. These results are discussed as they relate to gender differences found in achievement and other indices of competence during adolescence.     

Prediction of coherence in adolescence: Gender differences in social skills, personality, and family climate

The gender differences for personality structure, family climate, and social skills among adolescents were investigated in relation to their sense of coherence. The sample consisted of 742 adolescents (371 males and 371 females). The instruments included the Sense of Coherence scale, and the Hebrew adaptations for the Social Skills Checklist, the Family Environment Scale, and the Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Significant differences were found between the two groups' perceptions of family climate: The male adolescents viewed their families as more encouraging of every aspect of personal growth within a more controlled family system. The female adolescents were found as having higher levels of social competence. Regarding personality structure, the males reported higher Psychoticism scores, and the girls higher Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Lie scores. No significant differences were found between genders on the sense of coherence scores, yet multiple regression analysis revealed that gender, Neuroticism, social skills, and two aspects of family climate (Relationship and Personal Growth) added significantly to the explanation of the variance, in addition to the interactions of gender with Relationship and Personal Growth, and of Neuroticism with Relationship, Extraversion, and Psychoticism. These results were discussed within the construct of sex-role differences.     

Adolescent perception of self as a close friend: culture and gendered contexts

Although it is well-recognized that self-perceptions organize and guide behavior, little research has been reported regarding adolescent self-perception as a close friend. The present study describes data from American and Japanese samples of adolescents. Multiple regression analyses found significant predictors of Close Friend Self-Perception scores for American females to be Global Self-Worth, Classmate Support and Close Friend Support, and for American males to be Parent Support, Classmate Support and Close Friend Support. Significant predictors of Close Friend Self-Perception scores for Japanese females were found to be Global Self-Worth and Close Friend Support and for Japanese males to be Athletic Self-Perception, Global Self Worth, and Close Friend Support.     

Youths’ attributions for power-related gender differences: nature,nurture, or God?

This study examined beliefs about power-related gender traits among 73 early adolescents in middle school (M age=12.5), 84 late adolescents in high school (M age=16.1), and 111 young adults in college (M age=20.9). Males believed that men had more dominant traits than female participants, and females thought that women had more submissive traits than male participants. Older participants perceived more gender differentiation for these traits than younger participants. Youths believed most strongly in social explanations for differences, followed by biological and religious explanations, although there were age and sex differences in responses. Findings suggest that religious and biological attributions decrease between early adolescence and adulthood for both males and females, but that social attributions increase for females only. Religious attributions were linked to traditional attitudes towards women, social attributions were linked to egalitarian attitudes, while biological attributions were linked to traditional attitudes for males only.     

Relationship between schizotypal and borderline traits in college students

The main objective of the present investigation was to analyze the relationship between self-reported schizotypal and borderline personality traits in a sample of 759 college students (M = 19.63 years; SD = 2.03). For this purpose, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B; Raine and Benishay, 1995) and Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006) were administered. The results showed that schizotypal and borderline features are partially related at subclinical level. The exploratory factor analysis conducted on the subscales revealed a three-factor solution comprised of the following factors: Identity/Interpersonal, Lack of Control and Schizotypal. The canonical correlation analysis showed that schizotypal features and borderline personality traits shared 34.8% of the variance. The data highlight the overlap between schizotypal and borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults. Future studies should continue to examine the relationship and the degree of overlap between these traits in community samples.     

Early psychopathological features in Spanish adolescents

Schizotypal experiences and depressive symptoms are quite common among adolescents, and have been considered as risk markers for schizophrenia-spectrum and mood disorders. The main goal of the present study was to analyze the relationship between schizotypal experiences and depressive symptoms in a community sample of non-clinical adolescents. The sample comprised a total of 1653 participants, 794 male (48%), with an average age of 15.94 years (SD = 1.23). Results showed that schizotypal traits and depressive symptoms were closely related at a subclinical level. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that the two sets of variables shared approximately 48% of the variance. The study of the dimensionality underlying the subscales of the self-reports revealed the presence of three components, namely: Depressive, Anhedonia and Reality Distortion. These results are convergent with previous studies conducted in both clinical and non-clinical samples, indicating overlap between schizotypal experiences and depressive symptoms.     

Gender Differences in Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression and Behavior Problems in Adolescents

This study assessed gender differences in cognitive variables as an explanation for gender differences in depression and behavior problems; 856 adolescents (491 females and 365 males), aged 14–17, completed the Irrational Beliefs Scale for Adolescents, the Social Problem Solving Inventory—Revised Short Form, the adolescent version of the Burnett Self-Talk Inventory, and the Youth Self Report. Female adolescents lower levels of positive thinking and higher scores on negative problem orientation, need for approval and success, and self-focused negative cognitions partially mediated gender differences in depressive symptoms. Males higher scores on justification of violence beliefs and the impulsivity/carelessness style of problem solving partially accounted for differences in delinquent behavior. The influence of need for approval and success on depressive symptoms was higher among adolescents at ages 14–15 than among older adolescents. Justification of violence did not influence delinquent behavior among girls at age 14–15.     

Gender differences in the frequency of personality disorders in depressed outpatients

We examined gender differences in the frequency of DSM-III-R personality disorder diagnoses and symptomatology in a sample of 225 depressed outpatients. This research partially replicates and extends one of the first studies in this area by Golomb et al. (1995). Males were significantly more likely than females to meet diagnoses for schizotypal, paranoid, narcissistic, antisocial, obsessive compulsive, and borderline personality disorder. Compared to females, males were also significantly more likely to have schizoid, schizotypal, narcissistic, antisocial, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder symptomatology. Females did not predominate in any personality disorder symptomatology or diagnoses. A possible explanation for these findings is discussed. The results of this study challenge traditional assumptions about gender differences in the frequency of personality disorders, and confirm the need for future studies to investigate the relation between gender and personality disorders in specific Axis I samples.     

What Causes Internalising Traits and Autistic Traits to Co-occur in Adolescence? A Community-Based Twin Study

Autism shows a high degree of comorbidity with anxiety disorders. Adolescence is a time of increased stress and vulnerability to internalising problems. This study addresses for the first time the degree of genetic and environmental overlap between autistic traits (total measure and subscales) and internalising traits in a community-based adolescent twin sample. Parents of 12-14-year-old twins (N?=?3,232 pairs; 3,460 males, 3,004 females) reported on the twins’ internalising and autistic traits. Autistic trait subscales were created using principal component analysis. Bivariate twin model-fitting was conducted. Autistic and internalising traits correlated moderately (r?=?0.30). Genetic influences on individual traits were substantial but genetic overlap between traits was moderate (genetic correlation: males?=?0.30, females?=?0.12). Shared environmental influences were low for internalising traits and moderate for autistic traits, and showed considerable overlap (shared environmental correlation: males?=?0.53, females?=?1). Nonshared environmental influences were moderate for internalising traits and low for autistic traits and showed low overlap. A multiple component solution was found for autistic traits and of the derived subscales, autistic-like ‘Social Unease’ showed the most phenotypic and genetic overlap with internalising traits.     

Alcohol use and depression among African-American and Caucasian adolescents

The purpose of this study was to determine differences in reported alcohol use and depressive symptomatology among a sample of 524 African-American and Caucasian adolescents. Of specific interest was determining if ethnicity, gender, and age predicted severity of scores obtained on the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) and Adolescent Drinking Index (ADI). Extreme groups were formed using upper (> 75%) and lower (< 25%) quartiles. Three other groups were formed using each instrument's normatively derived cutoff scores: depressed only (RADS > 77), heavy drinking (ADI > 16) and mixed (RADS > 77, ADI > 16). Several results were obtained. First, Caucasians obtained significantly higher scores on the ADI than African-Americans, although no differences were obtained for the RADS. Females scored higher on the RADS but lower on the ADI than males. In terms of extreme scores, females were less likely to belong to the severe depression group, while older adolescents in general and African-Americans in particular had a greater probability of belonging to the heavy-drinking group. Finally, using RADS and ADI cutoff scores, females were less likely than males to belong to the depression only group as were African-Americans. Older adolescents, in general, and African-Americans in particular had a greater probability of belonging to the mixed group than did their counterparts.     

Female business owners in industries traditionally dominated by males

This study examined selected demographics, personality traits, and job-related characteristics of females and males operating small businesses in traditionally male-dominated industries. Of the 56 participating businesses owners, all but 2 were Caucasian. Organizational characteristics were also observed. Significant gender differences were found in marital status, industry experience, age of firms, number of females hired, and effectiveness of communication scores.     

Item response theory analyses of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System card sorting subtest

In the current study, we examined the dimensionality of the 16-item Card Sorting subtest of the Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning System assessment in a sample of 264 native English-speaking children between the ages of 9 and 15 years. We also tested for measurement invariance for these items across age and gender groups using item response theory (IRT). Results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that a two-factor model that distinguished between verbal and perceptual items provided the best fit to the data. Although the items demonstrated measurement invariance across age groups, measurement invariance was violated for gender groups, with two items demonstrating differential item functioning for males and females. Multigroup analysis using all 16 items indicated that the items were more effective for individuals whose IRT scale scores were relatively high. A single-group explanatory IRT model using 14 non-differential item functioning items showed that for perceptual ability, females scored higher than males and that scores increased with age for both males and females; for verbal ability, the observed increase in scores across age differed for males and females. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Differences in risk factors and adjustment for male and female delinquents in treatment foster care

Differences by gender in the presence of risk factors, patterns of previous delinquency, and response to treatment were examined for a sample of 88 adolescents who were placed in Treatment Foster Care. Females were found to have fewer foster parent-reported problem behaviors than their male counterparts during the first month of treatment. By month 6, problem behavior levels for males had dropped, while scores for female subjects had increased to the level of males at month 1. No differences in pre-post arrest data or program completion rates for males and females were found. Implications for research on and treatment of female adolescents with conduct problems are discussed.     

Peer victimization as a risk factor for schizotypal personality in childhood and adolescence

There has been no prior research on peer victimization and child or adolescent schizotypal personality. This study tests the hypothesis that increased peer victimization is associated with increased schizotypal personality. Schizotypy was assessed using the SPQ-C (Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Child) in 3,508 male and female schoolchildren aged 8 to 16 years. All forms of peer victimization (physical, verbal, social manipulation, attack on property) were associated with schizotypal personality in both males and females across all age groups. Significant victimization more than doubled schizotypy scores. It is hypothesized that peer victimization may predispose to paranoid ideation, social anxiety, and lack of close friends, and consequently heightened schizotypal personality.     

Loneliness and alcoholism risk in late adolescence: a comparative study of adults and adolescents.

The Short Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (SMAST) was administered via phone survey to a random sample of subjects 18 years of age and older in a large metropolitan county. Among late adolescents (aged 18 to 20), lonely females had the highest mean score on the SMAST, indicating a higher degree of alcoholism risk than lonely males and nonlonely males and females. Among lonely females, late adolescents scored higher on the SMAST than any other age group. For males, loneliness did not appear to increase alcoholism risk in the late adolescent age group, but did appear to do so during the early and middle adulthood years. The implications of these findings for mental health professionals and adolescent substance abuse treatment personnel are discussed.