Prediction of personality disorder traits by psychosis proneness scales in a German sample of young adults

Abstract

Prior research has focused on schizophrenia-spectrum disorder traits in psychosis-prone subjects. The whole range of personality disorders were only explored in patient samples and with the relatives of patients. In light of this situation, the predictive value of Physical Anhedonia (PhA), Perceptual Aberration (PER), and Magical Ideation (MI) for personality disorder traits were examined dimensionally and categorically in a non-patient sample. We selected a non-student sample (n = 404) and focused on two risk groups (PhA: n = 14; combined PER/MI: n = 36), and a control group (n = 19) using the SCID II to assess personality disorders at a time period two years later. MI explained most of the variance in clinically relevant schizotypal personality disorder symptoms, while PER and PhA dimensionally were associated with the number of diagnostic criteria met for other personality disorders. While both risk groups exceeded the control group in clinically relevant borderline traits, only the PER/MI-individuals differed in fulfilling more criteria for schizotypal personality disorder.