T115. PERSONALITY ACROSS THE PSYCHOSIS CONTINUUM: A FINE-GRAINED PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

BackgroundPersonality is associated with the etiology, course and outcome of psychosis. Previous research has mainly focused on the global domains within the Five-Factor Model of personality. Moreover, little is known on the personality profile of individuals who report frequent psychosis-like experiences (PE) including auditory hallucinations, but do not fulfill criteria for a Cluster A personality disorder or psychotic disorder.MethodsWe included 134 individuals with non-clinical PE, 40 patients with a psychotic disorder and 126 healthy controls. Participants completed the Dutch NEO-PI-R. ANOVAs were performed to compare personality profiles across the three groups.ResultsThe domains of Neuroticism, Openness and Conscientiousness showed significant group differences. Together with intermediate levels of Neuroticism, individuals with non-clinical PE on average showed high Openness compared to healthy controls and patients (trend-level). The patient group scored high on Neuroticism and low on Conscientiousness compared to both individuals with non-clinical PE and controls. Furthermore, facet-level analyses showed intermediate levels of Depression and Anxiety (N) in individuals with non-clinical PE, as well as high Fantasy, Aesthetics and Ideas (O) relative to controls. The group with non-clinical PE also displayed similar high Angry Hostility (N) and Feelings (O), along with low Trust (A) and Gregariousness (E), as seen in the patient group. Patients showed high Vulnerability and Self-Conscientiousness (N), and also low Competence and Self-discipline (C) compared to both other groups.DiscussionThis is the first study to provide an analysis of both domain and facet-level data across the psychosis continuum. Our findings underline the added value of a more fine-grained evaluation of personality. We address how certain facets may be related to general PE proneness, both in non-clinical and clinical individuals alike, while other traits may differentiate individuals with non-clinical PE from patients. Current results encourage intervention strategies targeting coping and social skills for youth at risk for psychosis.