Personality organization and sense of self in individuals at Ultra-High Risk for psychosis and First-Episode Psychosis
Poster B99, Tuesday, October%209, 11:30%20am%20-%201:00%20pm, Essex%20Ballroom
Maria Gruber1, Karin Feichtinger2, Karoline Parth2, Antonia Funder2, Nilufar Mossaheb1, Zsuzsa Litvan1, Barbara Hinterbuchinger1, Franziska Resch2, Stephan Doering2, Victor Blueml2; 1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Clinical Division of Social Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, Austria, 2Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
Purpose: Data on personality organization and sense of self in at risk mental state and early stages of psychosis is highly valuable but sparse. The aim of this ongoing project is to explore personality functioning and sense of self in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) and with first-episode psychosis (FEP). Materials and Methods: All UHR individuals were identified using the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental State (CAARMS), some additionally using the Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument for Adults (SPI-A). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders (SCID I and II) was applied. Personality functioning and sense of self were assessed with the Structured Interview for Personality Organization (STIPO) and the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE). Data of UHR (n=8), FEP (n=8), borderline personality disorder (BPD) individuals (n=18) and healthy controls (HC, n=15) were compared. Results: UHR patients showed a significantly lower level of personality organization (p<.001), significant deficits in identity integration (p<.001) and sense of self (p≤.05), but not a different quality of object relations compared to HC (p=.18). UHR individuals had a significantly higher level of personality organization (p=.022), a better identity integration (p=.027) and a higher quality of object relations (p=.04) compared to BPD individuals. There were no differences in these variables between UHR and FEP patients (p>.05). Self-disorders (EASE) of UHR patients did not significantly differ from FEP and BPD patients. Conclusion: These findings suggest that personality organization and sense of self in UHR and FEP individuals lie on a spectrum between healthy and BPD individuals.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research