A longitudinal study of high scorers on the hypomanic personality scale

Former college students (n = 36) identified by high scores on the Hypomanic Personality Scale (HYP; Eckblad & Chapman, 1986) were compared with control participants (n = 31) at a 13-year follow-up assessment. As hypothesized, the HYP group reported more bipolar disorders and major depressive episodes than the control group. The HYP group also exceeded the control group on the severity of psychotic-like experiences, symptoms of borderline personality disorder, and rates of substance use disorders. HYP group members with elevated scores on the Impulsive-Nonconformity Scale (Chapman et al., 1984) experienced greater rates of bipolar mood disorders, poorer overall adjustment, and higher rates of arrest than the remaining HYP or control participants.     

The psychometric detection of schizotypy: do putative schizotypy indicators identify the same latent class?

The authors examined whether three indicators of Schizotypy, the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale (RSAS), Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), and Perceptual Aberration Scale (PAS), identify a common latent class or taxon as conceptualized by P. E. Meehl (1962, 1990). The separate and joint latent structures of these scales were evaluated using taxometric methods in two large, independent samples. Replicating prior findings, the RSAS and PAS each identified latent taxa with base rates approximating.10. Results for the taxonicity of the MIS were less consistent. Analyses of joint latent structure indicated that the RSAS-identified taxon was essentially independent of constructs measured by the PAS or MIS. Measures commonly thought to tap the same latent class, conjectured to be schizotypy, do not share this property.     

Effort deficits and depression: The influence of anhedonic depressive symptoms on cardiac autonomic activity during a mental challenge

Motivational approaches to depression emphasize the role of dysfunctional motivational dynamics, particularly diminished reward and incentive processes associated with anhedonia. A study examined how anhedonic depressive symptoms, measured continuously across a wide range of severity, influenced the physiological mobilization of effort during a cognitive task. Using motivational intensity theory as a guide, we expected that the diminished incentive value associated with anhedonic depressive symptoms would reduce effort during a “do your best” challenge (also known as an unfixed or self-paced challenge), in which effort is a function of the value of achieving the task’s goal. Using impedance cardiography, two cardiac autonomic responses were assessed: pre-ejection period (PEP), a measure of sympathetic activity and our primary measure of interest, and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), a measure of parasympathetic activity. As expected, PEP slowed from baseline to task as anhedonic depressive symptoms increased (as measured with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale), indicating diminished effort-related sympathetic activity. No significant effects appeared for RSA. The findings support motivational intensity theory as a translational model of effort processes in depression and clarify some inconsistent effects of depressive symptoms on effort-related physiology found in past work.     

Relationship problems and extradyadic romantic and sexual activity in a web‐sample of Norwegian men and women

The purpose of this paper is to describe the prevalence of self‐reported types of extradyadic romantic and sexual activity among adult Norwegians and to explore the role of infidelity in breaking up a permanent relationship. The results are based on 1,001 web interviews with persons ranging in age from 18 to 67 years. The majority of respondents reported having engaged in some kind of extradyadic romantic and/or sexual activity. Forty‐five percent of the women and 39% of the men claimed they had experienced a previous breakup from a marriage or cohabiting relationship. Among those aged 50 years or older, the most important reasons for breaking up a previous relationship were infidelity (38%) and lost love (38%). More men (44%) than women (33%) reported infidelity. Respondents younger than 50 years were more motivated by boredom. Among respondents below the age of 50 years, the most frequently reported reasons for considering termination of a present relationship were quarreling (37%), poor sex life (29%), and “other” reasons (25%). Accordingly, infidelity was not identified as an essential factor for considering a breakup from the present relationship.     

Assessment of Score Dependability of the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales Using Generalizability Analysis

To investigate the reliability of the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales, this study applied generalizability analysis with two college student samples who completed the scales at two time points. The results indicated that the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale had acceptable levels of score dependability, but that the score dependability for the other scales (the Physical Anhedonia Scale, the Perceptual Aberration Scale, and the Magical Ideation Scale) was below an acceptable level of .80. The patterns of variance components suggested that the scales’ items need improvement. Researchers can use the included tables to choose the number of items and occasions needed to get dependable score interpretations.     

Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Function in Children with Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Implications for Genetic Counseling

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between parental socio-economic status (SES) and childhood neurocognition and behavior in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). Although undoubtedly, the deletion of genes in the 22q11.2 interval is primarily responsible for the psychological manifestations, little is known about the role of the environment in either mitigating or contributing to these problems. We examined the association of parental socio-economic status (SES) with cognition and behavior in children with 22q11DS (n = 65) and matched healthy control subjects (n = 52), since SES is a component of family resources. We found that in children with 22q11DS, higher SES correlated with better overall functioning (p < .01) and social skills (p < .01), and less frequent oppositional defiant behavior (p < .001). These findings were in contrast to the control subjects in whom SES correlated with cognition and achievement, but not behavior. Our results indicate that environmental factors influence the behavioral phenotype in children with 22q11DS, providing a framework for developing appropriate interventions. As such, genetic counseling for families with 22q11DS may include consideration of family resources and inclusion of other health professionals, such as social workers, to explore with the family available social supports and resources.     

The Association of Bipolar Spectrum Psychopathology with Psychotic-Like and Schizotypic Symptoms

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Bipolar disorders are increasingly understood as part of a spectrum of clinical and subclinical symptoms and impairment. Upwards of 50% of...     

Validation of the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief in Two Large Samples

This study reports on an initial examination of the construct validity of the Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale-Brief (MSS-B) and the first investigation of its psychometric properties outside of its derivation samples. The MSS-B contains 38 items that assess positive, negative, and disorganized schizotypy and has comparable content coverage and psychometric properties as the original 77-item Multidimensional Schizotypy Scale. Two large samples (n?=?1430 and 1289) completed the MSS-B, as well as measures of schizotypal personality traits and the Five-Factor Model of Personality. MSS-B scores were computed from the full-length scale in sample 1, whereas participants in sample 2 were administered the MSS-B. The psychometric properties and intercorrelations of the MSS-B subscales were consistent with findings from the original derivation samples, with no shrinkage in reliability. In terms of relations with schizotypal traits, the MSS-B positive schizotypy dimension had its strongest association with cognitive-perceptual schizotypal traits, MSS-B negative schizotypy had its strongest association with interpersonal schizotypal traits, and MSS-B disorganized schizotypy had its strongest association with disorganized schizotypal traits. The schizotypy dimensions were characterized by hypothesized patterns of distinct associations with the Five-Factor Model. The present findings are consistent with results from the full-scale MSS.     

Aberrant asociality: how individual differences in social anhedonia illuminate the need to belong

The need to belong, a fundamental concept in psychology, organizes a wide range of findings in the study of interpersonal relationships. We suggest that human belongingness needs can be illuminated by examining when they go awry. We review research on social anhedonia, a trait that involves a marked disinterest in interpersonal contact. Social anhedonia has a long history in clinical psychology, particularly in the study of schizotypy and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, but it is just starting to get attention from social and personality psychologists. Three lines of research-cross-sectional studies of individual differences, longitudinal studies of risk for psychopathology, and experience-sampling studies of interpersonal behavior-suggest that (1) social anhedonia represents genuine social disinterest, not merely shyness, introversion, or social anxiety, and (2) people high in social anhedonia have consistently poorer functioning, including a higher risk for developing schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Just as satisfied relatedness needs promote flourishing, dysfunctional social needs promote psychopathology.     

Factor Invariance of Psychometric Schizotypy in Spanish and American Samples

The present study extended recent work examining the factor structure underlying the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales by examining the factor invariance of this structure in Spanish and American nonclinical samples of young adults. A series of confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with 547 Spanish and 2,171 American young adults. Consistent with prior work, the best fitting model in both samples was a two-factor model with positive and negative schizotypy dimensions. Furthermore, the factor structure was invariant across the two samples. The findings support the construct validity of a multidimensional model of schizotypy and the use of psychometric inventories to assess these dimensions.