Ultrahigh risk for developing psychosis and psychotic personality organization.

Abstract

Childhood adversities combined with unsafe parenting may disturb personality development. This study investigated whether psychotic personality organization as defined by Kernberg and assessed with de Dutch Short Form of the MMPI (DSFM) is more prevalent in ultrahigh risk (UHR) for psychosis compared with non-psychotic psychiatric control patients (NPPC). A total of 73 UHR and 119 NPPC patients were assessed with the DSFM and the Comprehensive Assessment of at Risk Mental States (CAARMS). The results showed that the psychotic personality organization (PPO) was not associated to UHR status. The UHR group showed more severe symptoms, particularly higher scores on DSFM subscales negativism (negative affect) and somatization (vague somatic complaints) and severe psychopathology (psychotic symptoms and dissociation). The PPO profile is not associated to the risk of developing psychosis.