The healthy side of positive schizotypy may reflect positive self-report biases

Abstract

International audienceThe concept of "healthy schizotypy", characterized by positive schizotypy symptoms in the absence of negative or dizorganized schizotypy, raises questions regarding whether the contrast between its healthy appearance and its relatively high level of impairment might be due to self-reported advantages. Using cluster analysis, we aimed at typifying a positive schizotypy group in a large nonclinical sample of young adults to examine its association with depressive symptoms, cannabis use, academic performance, wellbeing and serendipity, while controlling for variables inducing positive self-report biases: self-deceptive denial, wishful thinking, social desirability and narcissistic traits. We thus identified a pure positive schizotypy cluster (P) and a positive and disorganized cluster (PD) which had the highest level of the positive factor. Both clusters were characterized by a contrast between a high level of well-being, life satisfaction and self-reported serendipity (similar to a low schizotypy cluster) with elevated level of impairment markers (lower academic performance, higher depressive symptoms and cannabis use), comparable with clusters high in negative schizotypy. Moreover P and PD had elevated levels of variables susceptible to induce positive self-report biases (denial, wishful thinking, social desirability, narcissistic traits), while the clusters high in negative schizotypy had lower levels. We conclude that the relative high level of well-being and life satisfaction observed in groups with elevated positive and low negative schizotypy may in fact be linked to positive self-report biases