The measurement of schizotypy as a risk factor for psychosis: Validation of the Italian short forms of the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales
Poster C122, Saturday, October 22, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Antonio Preti1, Tamara Muratore1, Rosanna Scanu1, Rossana Scerman1, Marta Carrus1, Carlotta Cadoni1, Antonio Manca1, Giovanni D’Errico1, Donatella R. Petretto1; 1University of Cagliari
Purpose: Schizotypy and its underlying genetic vulnerability may represent specific risk factors for the triggering of psychosis. The Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales (WSS) are widely used to assess schizotypy. This study set out to evaluate the psychometric properties of the self-report Italian version of the short form of the WSS. Materials and Methods: The study is based on the third wave of the Cagliari Psychosis Investigation on Risk Emergence (CAPIRE, which in Italian language means to understand). Participants were 100 patients with severe mental disorders (40% with schizophrenia; 40% with affective psychosis) and 150 sex and age matched controls (mean age: 41 +/-13 years). Results: The WSS showed excellent reliability in term of internal coherence (> 0.80 in patients, in patients, and > 0.75 in their control counterpart). Taking into account levels of depression (measured with the Beck Depression Inventory), the two subscales assessing attenuated positive symptoms were related to each other (r = 0.53), and the two scales assessing attenuated negative symptoms were related to each other (r = 0.38), but they diverged when cross-correlated (r < 0.15 in all cross comparisons). The four-factor structure had an optimal fit at confirmatory factor analysis. The WSS discriminated patients from controls with large effect size. Conclusion: The short form of the WSS is a useful and easy to administrate tool for characterizing people at risk of psychosis in the general population.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research