Relationship between Lifetime Suicide Attempts and Schizotypal Traits in Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

Patients with schizophrenia are at increased risk for suicide. Various risk factors for suicide have been reported in schizophrenia; however, few studies have examined the association between personality traits and suicidal behavior. We administered the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) to 87 Japanese patients with schizophrenia (49 males; mean age 38.1±10.6 years) with and without a history of suicide attempts (SA and nSA groups, respectively), and 322 controls (158 males; mean age 40.8±13.9 years). As expected, an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) controlling for age and sex showed that all SPQ indices (total SPQ score and all three factors, i.e., cognitive-perceptual, interpersonal, and disorganized) were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia (SA+nSA groups), than controls (p<0.001 for all comparisons). Furthermore, there were significant differences in the total score and the interpersonal and disorganized factors between the SA and nSA groups (nSA<SA, p<0.01 for all comparisons). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed that a total SPQ score of 33.5 was the optimal cut-off value to discriminate the SA group from the nSA group (χ2[1] = 10.6, p = 0.002, odds ratio: 4.7, 95% confidence interval: 1.8–12.1, sensitivity: 0.70, specificity: 0.67). These results suggest that high schizotypy is associated with lifetime suicide attempts, and that the total SPQ score might be useful to assess the risk of suicide attempt in patients with schizophrenia.

Cognitive profiles of schizotypal dimensions in a community cohort: Common properties of differential manifestations

“…Eight subjects were excluded due to Axis I pathology, 10 subjects were excluded due to personal history of head trauma or neurological conditions, and another three subjects dropped out; therefore the final sample consisted of 200 participants (89 males/111 females, age mean± SD = 29.80± 9.69 years, age range = 18-57 years). The total SPQ score (mean± SD) of the entire sample was 18.98± 13.20 (range = 0-61), similar to published general population studies in which subjects with objectively determined psychopathology were excluded, as in the present study Hori et al, 2013;Noguchi, Hori, & Kunugi, 2008;Rossi & Daneluzzo, 2002;Teraishi et al, 2014). The present study was part of the Prefrontally Mediated Endophenotypes in the Schizophrenia Spectrum (PreMES) study.…”

Depressive Temperament in Relatives of Patients with Schizophrenia Is Associated with Suicidality in Patients with Schizophrenia

“…Previous studies have reported no association between suicidal behavior and positive or negative symptoms 29). Previously, it was reported that there was no association between the delusions and other psychotic symptoms and the history of suicide attempts in patients with schizophrenia 30,31). In contrast, it has been reported that command hallucinations could be a risk factor for suicide attempts 32).…”

The Mediator Effect of Meaningfulness on the Relationship Between Schizotypy Traits and Suicidality

“…behavior (Joiner et al, 2001;Kwapil et al, 2013;Teraishi et al, 2014;Jahn et al, 2016). Based on the assumption that individuals with high suicide risk question their life's value and have lost the desire to find their life's meaning, it is thought that people with less meaningfulness are at increased risk of having serious suicidal thoughts and attempts (Zhao et al, 2012).…”