Autistic Symptoms and Social Functioning in Psychosis: A Network Approach

Adela Maria Isvoranu*, Tim Ziermans, Frederike Schirmbeck, Denny Borsboom, Hilde M. Geurts, Lieuwe De Haan, Therese Van Amelsvoort, Agna A. Bartels-Velthuis, Claudia J.P. Simons, Jim Van Os

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Psychotic and autistic symptoms are related to social functioning in individuals with psychotic disorders (PD). The present study used a network approach to (1) evaluate the interactions between autistic symptoms, psychotic symptoms, and social functioning, and (2) investigate whether relations are similar in individuals with and without PD. We estimated an undirected network model in a sample of 504 PD, 572 familial risk for psychosis (FR), and 337 typical comparisons (TC), with a mean age of 34.9 years. Symptoms were assessed with the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ; 5 nodes) and the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE; 9 nodes). Social functioning was measured with the Social Functioning Scale (SFS; 7 nodes). We identified statistically significant differences between the FR and PD samples in global strength (P <. 001) and network structure (P <. 001). Our results show autistic symptoms (social interaction nodes) are negatively and more closely related to social functioning (withdrawal, interpersonal behavior) than psychotic symptoms. More and stronger connections between nodes were observed for the PD network than for FR and TC networks, while the latter 2 were similar in density (P =. 11) and network structure (P =. 19). The most central items in strength for PD were bizarre experiences, social skills, and paranoia. In conclusion, specific autistic symptoms are negatively associated with social functioning across the psychosis spectrum, but in the PD network symptoms may reinforce each other more easily. These findings emphasize the need for increased clinical awareness of comorbid autistic symptoms in psychotic individuals.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)273-282
Number of pages10
JournalSchizophrenia Bulletin
Volume48
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2022

Keywords

  • autism
  • functional outcome
  • network analysis
  • network models
  • psychosis
  • schizophrenia

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