The relationship between personality traits and psychotic like experiences in a large non-clinical adolescent sample

ObjectiveThe relationship between personality and psychosis is well established. It has been suggested that this relationship may be partly accounted for by higher levels of depression in individuals with certain personality traits. We explored whether the link between personality and psychotic symptoms is already apparent in adolescence, and if this association would still hold when depression was controlled for.Method654 secondary school students were surveyed via self-report questionnaires measuring the Five-Factor model of personality (NEO-FFI), depression (CES-D) and psychotic-like experiences (CAPE).ResultsPositive associations were found between Neuroticism and all CAPE-subscales except Magical Thinking, which was in turn associated with all other personality traits when at high levels. Agreeableness was negatively associated with all CAPE-subscales, while Openness to Experience was only positively associated with Persecutory Ideas and Magical Thinking. After controlling for depression, many of the significant associations remained.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the chance of having psychotic like experiences is more likely for adolescents with certain personality traits. These associations are not fully explained by depression, especially when psychotic experiences are at higher levels. Future research is needed to investigate if these personality traits might put a person at risk for the development of full-blown psychosis.     

The relationship between age, verbal working memory, and language comprehension

A structural modeling approach was used to examine the relationships between age, verbal working memory (vWM), and 3 types of language measures: online syntactic processing, sentence comprehension, and text comprehension. The best-fit model for the online-processing measure revealed a direct effect of age on online sentence processing, but no effect mediated through vWM. The best-fit models for sentence and text comprehension included an effect of age mediated through vWM and no direct effect of age. These results indicate that the relationship among age, vWM, and comprehension differs depending on the measure of language processing and support the view that individual differences in vWM do not affect individuals' online syntactic processing.     

The relationship between language production and verbal short-term memory: The role of stress grouping

This study investigates the influence of stress grouping on verbal short-term memory (STM). English speakers show a preference to combine syllables into trochaic groups, both lexically and in continuous speech. In two serial recall experiments, auditory lists of nonsense syllables were presented with either trochaic (STRONG–weak) or iambic (weak–STRONG) stress patterns, or in monotone. The acoustic correlates that carry stress were also manipulated in order to examine the relationship between input and output processes during recall. In Experiment 1, stressed and unstressed syllables differed in intensity and pitch but were matched for spoken duration. Significantly more syllables were recalled in the trochaic stress pattern condition than in the iambic and monotone conditions, which did not differ. In Experiment 2, spoken duration and pitch were manipulated but intensity was held constant. No effects of stress grouping were observed, suggesting that intensity is a critical acoustic factor for trochaic grouping. Acoustic analyses demonstrated that speech output was not identical to the auditory input, but that participants generated correct stress patterns by manipulating acoustic correlates in the same way in both experiments. These data challenge the idea of a language-independent STM store and support the notion of separable phonological input and output processes.     

The relationship between cognitive inhibition and psychotic symptoms

Cognitive models of schizophrenia have highlighted deficits of inhibitory attentional processes as central to the disorder. This has been investigated using "negative priming" (S. P. Tipper, 1985), with schizophrenia patients showing a reduction of negative priming in a number of studies. This study attempted to replicate these findings, but studied psychotic symptoms rather than the broad diagnostic category of schizophrenia. Psychotic individuals exhibiting positive symptoms were compared with asymptomatic psychiatric patients and with a normal control group. As predicted, the symptomatic group failed to show the usual negative priming effect, which was present in the asymptomatic and normal groups. A modest but significant correlation was found between negative priming and delusions. Neither diagnosis, nor affective or negative symptoms, nor chronicity, nor medication, was related to negative priming. These data replicate previous findings that positive symptoms are related to a reduction in cognitive inhibition, although considerable variability was observed among the psychotic patients.     

Perceiving verbal and vocal emotions in a second language

Emotional inferences from speech require the integration of verbal and vocal emotional expressions. We asked whether this integration is comparable when listeners are exposed to their native language and when they listen to a language learned later in life. To this end, we presented native and non-native listeners with positive, neutral and negative words that were spoken with a happy, neutral or sad tone of voice. In two separate tasks, participants judged word valence and ignored tone of voice or judged emotional tone of voice and ignored word valence. While native listeners outperformed non-native listeners in the word valence task, performance was comparable in the voice task. More importantly, both native and non-native listeners responded faster and more accurately when verbal and vocal emotional expressions were congruent as compared to when they were incongruent. Given that the size of the latter effect did not differ as a function of language proficiency, one can conclude that the integration of verbal and vocal emotional expressions occurs as readily in one's second language as it does in one's native language.     

Perceiving verbal and vocal emotions in a second language

Emotional inferences from speech require the integration of verbal and vocal emotional expressions. We asked whether this integration is comparable when listeners are exposed to their native language and when they listen to a language learned later in life. To this end, we presented native and non-native listeners with positive, neutral and negative words that were spoken with a happy, neutral or sad tone of voice. In two separate tasks, participants judged word valence and ignored tone of voice or judged emotional tone of voice and ignored word valence. While native listeners outperformed non-native listeners in the word valence task, performance was comparable in the voice task. More importantly, both native and non-native listeners responded faster and more accurately when verbal and vocal emotional expressions were congruent as compared to when they were incongruent. Given that the size of the latter effect did not differ as a function of language proficiency, one can conclude that the integration of verbal and vocal emotional expressions occurs as readily in one's second language as it does in one's native language.     

Aspects of self-concept and their relationship to language performance and verbal reasoning ability

It has been claimed that self-concept is multidimensional, with dimensions such as mathematical self-concept and self-concept in language. The present study investigated the relationship of academic self-concept in language with performance on school-related language tasks and verbal reasoning ability. A total of 512 students in grades 7, 9, and 11 rated four aspects of their academic self-concept in language: self-perception, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and others' perception of their abilities. Verbal reasoning ability and performance on language tasks were assessed. Path analysis showed that performance on language tasks was influenced strongly by verbal reasoning abilities. Self-esteem and others' perception of one's abilities were affected directly by language performance. No direct relationship was found between academic self-concept in language and verbal reasoning ability. The results suggest that adolescents do not construe their academic self-concept according to their abilities but according to their performance in school and others' response to it.     

Interaction between verbal and gestural language in progressive aphasia: a longitudinal case study.

The objective of this longitudinal study is to investigate the on-line interaction between praxis and linguistic abilities in a progressive aphasia case. During 3 years of evolution, procedural discourse of a progressive aphasic patient was videotaped five times, allowing us to analyze the progression of both language and gestural production as well as the interaction between these two. We anticipated that, in the absence of apraxia, the patient would compensate for her speech deficit by producing progressively more and more meaningful gestures. Our compensatory hypothesis was confirmed but the compensation was not as efficient as one would expect given the absence of apraxia. With the progression of the speech deficit, the patient could not replace some verbs by pantomimes that were otherwise accompanying her discourse in the preceding testing sessions. We suggest that such a compensatory ability may constitute one important characteristic of the progressive aphasia syndrome.     

Elaborating the relationship between age and adolescent cigarette smoking

Previous research has found that the relationship between variables derived from a social control model of deviant behavior are conditional on the age of adolescents. We examine whether the observed age effect on adolescent cigarette use may be due to a cohort or period effect by using multiple cross‐sections from several cohorts of adolescents. We find that basing conclusions about some social control variables on cross‐sectional results may lead to erroneous interpretations concerning the age‐conditional effects of some of the variables in our model.     

Schizotypy and verbal memory in the adolescent general population

The following study examines the relationship between verbal memory deficits and schizotypal traits measured psychometrically from a non- clinical adolescent population. In this transversal analytical study participated 139 subjects. They were secondary school students, with ages ranging from 13 to 16 years old (mean= 14, 35; Sta.Dev.= 0, 548). After administrating the scales O-LIFE (psychometrical schizotypy), CVLT (verbal memory), and Letters and Numbers subtest of WAIS-III (working memory), data was analyzed utilizing Pearson correlations and mean comparison test. Results showed lack of relations between schizotypy measures and working memory. Nonetheless, some of the O-LIFE dimensions correlated with verbal memory. These findings support partly the literature reviewed. Yet, more work focused on schizotypy and cognitive deficits as risk factors are suggested.     

The relationship between executive function and verbal memory in Parkinson's disease

A growing body of evidence suggests that the various cognitive symptoms found in Parkinson's disease (PD) are secondary to executive dysfunction. Studies addressing this possibility for memory impairment specifically have not included measures of working memory nor have they ruled-out potential mediating variables such as overall level of cognitive impairment or depression. The purpose of this study was to include measures of these variables in determining the relationship between multiple aspects of executive function and delayed verbal recall in 32 idiopathic PD patients. Results were consistent with the original hypothesis and further suggest that working memory is a key factor in recall memory and may mediate the relationship between other executive measures and recall in PD.     

The relationship between defenses and symptoms in adolescent psychopathology

The relationship between defense mechanisms and symptoms was assessed in a group of 196 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Defense mechanisms were measured through the use of the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI); symptoms and problem behaviors were measured with the Youth Self-Report. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that externalizing symptoms are associated with defenses that locate the conflict outside of the self, whereas internalizing symptoms are associated with defenses that locate the conflict within the self. In contrast to previous reports, no gender differences were found in defense preference, though gender differences were found in the relation of defenses to symptoms. The findings are consistent with clinical theory of defense processes and support the distinction between internalizing/externalizing behaviors and personality dimensions for both symptoms and defenses. The study supports the validity of the adolescent form of the DMI.     

The relationship between adolescent depression and a history of sexual abuse

The purpose of this study was to examine the occurrence of depression among adolescents attending family planning clinics, and to determine the relationship among depression, a history of sexual abuse, and other risk behaviors. The sample consisted of 279 minority females. Results of the study indicated that 40 adolescents (14.3%) scored at or above a raw score of 77 for depression based on the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS). This suggests that these adolescents should be identified for further evaluation. Results of the Stepwise Linear Regression indicated that a history of sexual abuse was the most potent factor in predicting depression. These findings highlight the importance of screening concurrently for depression and a history of sexual abuse in family planning and other healthcare settings.