The relevance of schizotypal traits for understanding interpersonal functioning in adolescents with psychiatric problems

Abstract

Social relationships are considered highly important throughout adolescence (Kenny et al., 2013), both for the further development and consolidation of identity, social roles, and skills. The schizotypal personality disorder (STPD) has a strong negative impact on these relationships with both parents and peers (Cramer et al., 2006; Hengartner et al., 2014), and can thus be considered as a risk factor for early maladaptive social functioning. The current study focuses on the relevance of different dimensional STPD traits for understanding social functioning, by examining their unique associations with global and more specific parental and peer relationship characteristics in a group of referred late-adolescents (N = 205, mean age = 20.27). Negative schizotypal traits, assessed by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) STPD traits Restricted Affectivity, Withdrawal, and Suspiciousness (Krueger et al., 2012) appeared to be a unique predictor for less maternal and peer social support. Positive schizotypal traits were measured with the age-specific Oddity trait scale (Verbeke & De Clercq, 2014) and proved to be a unique predictor beyond negative schizotypal traits for negative interactions with adolescents' mother and a best friend. These results highlight the heterogeneous nature of the STPD construct and suggest that a dimensional description may contribute to a more detailed understanding of how the STPD relates to poor interpersonal relationship quality in vulnerable adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record