Beyond Clinical High-Risk State for Psychosis: The Network Structure of Multidimensional Psychosis Liability in Adolescents

OBJECTIVES: The main goal of the present study was to analyze the network structure of schizotypy dimensions in a representative sample of adolescents from the general population. Moreover, the network structure between schizotypy, mental health difficulties, subjective well-being, bipolar-like experiences, suicide ideation and behavior, psychotic-like experiences, positive and negative affect, prosocial behavior, and IQ was analyzed. METHOD: The study was conducted in a sample of 1,506 students selected by stratified random cluster sampling. The Oviedo Schizotypy Assessment Questionnaire, the Personal Wellbeing Index-School Children, the Paykel Suicide Scale, the Mood Disorder Questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children Shortened Version, and the Matrix Reasoning Test were used. RESULTS: The estimated schizotypy network was interconnected. The most central nodes in terms of standardized Expected Influence (EI) were 'unusual perceptual experiences' and 'paranoid ideation'. Predictability ranged from 8.7% ('physical anhedonia') to 52.7% ('unusual perceptual experiences'). The average predictability was 36.27%, implying that substantial variability remained unexplained. For the multidimensional psychosis liability network predictability values ranged from 9% (estimated IQ) to 74.90% ('psychotic-like experiences'). The average predictability was 43.46%. The results of the stability and accuracy analysis indicated that all networks were accurately estimated. CONCLUSIONS: The present paper points to the value of conceptualizing psychosis liability as a dynamic complex system of interacting cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and affective characteristics. In addition, provide new insights into the nature of the relationships between schizotypy, as index of psychosis liability, and the role played by risk and protective factors.Swiss National Science Foundation (100019_159440)Europa FEDER La Rioja 2014-2020 (SRS 6FRSABC026

From high intellectual ability to genius: Profiles of perfectionism

The aim of the study was to understand the components associated with the types of perfectionism described as adaptive/healthy, maladaptive/unhealthy or non-perfectionism, which could offer positive or negative aspects to improve excellence and well-being, exploring the number and content of the latent perfectionism structure as a multidimensional construct in a sample of High Intellectual Abilities (HIA) students. Links with Positive and Negative perfectionism were also compared across perfectionism latent profiles. A total of n=137 HIA students, mean age 13.77 years (SD=1.99), participated in a survey. The Almost Perfect Scale Revised (APS-R) and Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale-12 (PNPS-12) were used. Results obtained showed three latent classes (LC): ‘Unhealthy’ (LC1), ‘Healthy’ (LC2) and ‘No perfectionism’ (LC3). LC1 showed high scores on Discrepancy subscales but low in Order and High Standards. LC2 displayed higher scores on High Standards and Order. LC3 displayed low scores across all perfectionism facets. Statistically significant differences were found across latent profiles in almost all perfectionism features. Different patterns of associations with Positive and Negative perfectionism were obtained across latent profiles. These findings address the latent structure of perfectionisms in HIA students and allow us to delimit, analyze, and understand the tentative latent profiles within the HIA arena

Spanish normative data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community-based sample of adolescents

Background/Objective: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire self-report (SDQ-S) has been extensively used to assess mental health problems among children and adolescents. However, previous research has identified substantial age and country variation on its psychometric properties. The aim of this study was three-fold: i) to evaluate internal structure and measurement invariance of the Spanish version of the SDQ; ii) to analyze age and gender-specific effects on the SDQ subscales; and iii) to provide Spanish normative data for the entire age range of adolescence. Method: Data were derived from two representative samples of adolescents aged 14 to 19 years old, selected by stratified random cluster sampling years (N = 3378). Results: The reliability of the Total difficulties score was satisfactory, but some subscales showed lower levels of internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor model. Finally, results revealed that SDQ scores were influenced by the gender and the age of participants; thus, the normative banding scores and cut-off values were provided accordingly. Conclusions: This study validates the Spanish SDQ-S for the entire age range of adolescence. However, more cross-country and cross-age research is needed to better understand the inconsistent findings on SDQ reliability

Anxiety Assessment: Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Burns Anxiety Inventory

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Burns Anxiety Inventory (Burns-A: Burns, 1993). The sample consisted of 417 participants, 387 (29.71% male) healthy participants (control group: M = 35.5 years; SD = 8.40) and 30 (36.66% female) patients (clinical group: M = 35.8 years; SD = 12.94). The internal consistency evaluated through Cronbach' Alpha was 0.95 for the Total Score in both subsamples. The test-retest reliability (two weeks) for Total Score was 0.86 (F = 13.2, p ≤ .001) for the non-clinical subsample, and 0.95 (F = 36.5, p ≤ .001) for the clinical subsample. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the initial three-factor model. However, modifications to the initial three-factor model improved the goodness-of-fit indices. Results showed statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the Burns-A between the clinical and control groups. This study supports the Spanish version of the Burns-A as a brief and useful tool for the screening of anxiety symptoms in adult populations. Future studies should investigate measurement invariance across culture

Evaluación de las experiencias de tipo psicótico en adolescentes españoles: Baremación del Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B)

Assessment of psychotic-like experiences in Spanish adolescents: Normative data of the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B)Abstract: The main objective of this work was to establish the normative data of the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B) in a representative sample of Spanish adolescents. A total of 3,441 adolescents (M = 15.91 years, SD = 1.33 years) were selected by sampling stratified by clusters. The results showed that the point prevalence of psychotic-like experiences varied between 12% and 48%. An 82.9% of the sample reported at least one attenuated psychotic-like experience. Percentile norms were made for the total score and according to gender. The PQ-B is a brief, simple, useful measuring instrument with adequate psychometric properties for the assessment of subclinical psychosis phenotype in the Spanish adolescent population. It is transcendental that the psychologists have adequate tools for a reliable and valid assessment of this phenomenon in order to make informed decisions and optimize educational and socio-health resources.Keywords: Psychosis; psychotic experiences; adolescents; youth; validation; norms.Resumen: El principal objetivo de este trabajo fue baremar el Cuestionario de Pródromos-Breve (Prodromal Questionnaire- Brief, PQ-B) a partir de una muestra representativa de adolescentes españoles. Un total de 3441 adolescentes (M = 15.91 años, DT = 1.33 años) fueron seleccionados mediante muestreo estratificado por conglomerados. Los resultados mostraron que la prevalencia puntual de experiencias psicóticas osciló entre el 12% y el 48%. Un 82.9% de la muestra refirió al menos una experiencia psicótica atenuada. Los baremos tipo percentiles se confeccionaron para la puntuación total y en función del género. El PQ-B es un instrumento de medida breve, sencillo, útil y con adecuadas propiedades psicométricas para la valoración de las experiencias de tipo psicótico en población adolescente española. Es transcendental que el profesional de la psicología disponga de adecuadas herramientas para la evaluación fiable y válida de este fenómeno de cara a tomar decisiones fundamentadas y optimizar los recursos educativos y socio-sanitarios.Palabras clave: Psicosis; experiencias de tipo psicótico; adolescentes; jóvenes; validación; baremación

Spanish normative data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community-based sample of adolescents

Background/Objective: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire self-report (SDQ-S) has been extensively used to assess mental health problems among children and adolescents. However, previous research has identified substantial age and country variation on its psychometric properties. The aim of this study was three-fold: i) to evaluate internal structure and measurement invariance of the Spanish version of the SDQ; ii) to analyze age and gender-specific effects on the SDQ subscales; and iii) to provide Spanish normative data for the entire age range of adolescence. Method: Data were derived from two representative samples of adolescents aged 14 to 19 years old, selected by stratified random cluster sampling years (N = 3378). Results: The reliability of the Total difficulties score was satisfactory, but some subscales showed lower levels of internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor model. Finally, results revealed that SDQ scores were influenced by the gender and the age of participants; thus, the normative banding scores and cut-off values were provided accordingly. Conclusions: This study validates the Spanish SDQ-S for the entire age range of adolescence. However, more cross-country and cross-age research is needed to better understand the inconsistent findings on SDQ reliability

New evidence of factor structure and measurement invariance of the SDQ across five European nations

The main purpose of the present study was to test the internal structure and to study the measurement invariance of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), self-reported version, in five European countries. The sample consisted of 3012 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.20; SD = 0.83). The five-factor model (with correlated errors added), and the five-factor model (with correlated errors added) with the reverse-worded items allowed to cross-load on the Prosocial subscale, displayed adequate goodness of-fit indices. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the five-factor model had partial strong measurement invariance by countries. A total of 11 of the 25 items were non-invariant across samples. The level of internal consistency of the Total difficulties scores was .84, ranging between .69 and .78 for the SDQ subscales. The findings indicate that the SDQ's scales need to be modified in various ways for screening emotional and behavioural problems in the five European countries that were analyzed

Brief Assessment of Schizotypal Traits: A Multinational Study

The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B) was developed with the aim of examining variations in healthy trait schizotypy, as well as latent vulnerability to psychotic-spectrum disorders. No previous study has studied the cross-cultural validity of the SPQ-B in a large cross-national sample. The main goal of the present study was to analyze the reliability and the internal structure of SPQ-B scores in a multinational sample of 28,426 participants recruited from 14 countries. The mean age was 22.63 years (SD = 7.08; range 16-68 years), 37.7% (n = 10,711) were men. The omega coefficients were high, ranging from 0.86 to 0.92 for the total sample. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that SPQ-B items were grouped either in a theoretical structure of three first-order factors (Cognitive-Perceptual, Interpersonal, and Disorganized) or in a bifactor model (three first-order factors plus a general factor of schizotypal personality). In addition, the results supported configural but not strong measurement invariance of SPQ-B scores across samples. These findings provide new information about the factor structure of schizotypal personality, and support the validity and utility of the SPQ-B, a brief and easy tool for assessing self-reported schizotypal traits, in cross-national research. Theoretical and clinical implications for diagnostic systems, psychosis models, and cross-national mental health strategies are derived from these results