Personality traits in schizophrenia and related personality disorders

Camisa, Kathryn M.; Bockbrader, Marcia A.; Lysaker, Paul; Rae, Lauren L.; Brenner, Colleen A.; O'Donnell, Brian F.

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2004.09.002

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Volume 133, Issue 1 , Pages 23-33, 30 January 2005

Personality traits in schizophrenia and related personality disorders

Kathryn M. Camisa
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University, 1011 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Marcia A. Bockbrader
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University, 1011 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Paul Lysaker
- Psychiatry Service, Veterans Administration Medical Center, and Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University Medical School, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Lauren L. Rae
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University, 1011 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Colleen A. Brenner
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University, 1011 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Brian F. O'Donnell
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University, 1011 E. 10th Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 812 856 4676; fax: +1 812 855 4691.

Received 27 December 2003; received in revised form 30 April 2004; accepted 6 September 2004.

Abstract

We investigated whether schizophrenia spectrum disorders share common personality characteristics or traits. Participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SZ) or with a schizophrenia spectrum personality disorder (schizophrenia spectrum PD: schizoid, paranoid, and schizotypal personality disorder) were compared with non-psychiatric control subjects on the five-factor model of personality and the psychosis-proneness scales. On the five-factor personality scales, SZ subjects showed higher levels of neuroticism, and lower levels of openness, agreeableness, extraversion, and conscientiousness than control subjects. Higher scores on openness and lower scores on neuroticism distinguished schizophrenia spectrum PD from SZ. On the psychosis-proneness scales, both PD and SZ participants scored high relative to non-psychiatric control participants on magical ideation and perceptual aberration, while PD participants scored intermediate between non-psychiatric control participants and SZ on social anhedonia. Discriminant analysis indicated that schizophrenia spectrum patients could be distinguished from PDs by more severe social withdrawal and maladjustment, while subjects with PDs could be best distinguished from control subjects on the basis of odd or novel ideation and decreased conscientiousness.

Keywords: Personality, Five-factor model, Psychosis, Schizotypy, Psychosis-proneness