Data from: Delusion-proneness displays comorbidity with traits of autistic-spectrum disorders and ADHD

There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting a significant comorbidity between psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism-spectrum disorders (ASD). Recently, research on psychosis-proneness in otherwise healthy individuals has been a promising way to better understand the mechanisms underlying psychosis. As both ADHD and ASD symptoms show a normal distribution in the general population, such trait comorbidity may confound studies on psychosis-proneness. Thus, understanding the extent to which psychosis-proneness relates to ADHD and ASD symptoms in healthy subjects is crucial for studies focusing on at-risk or psychosis-prone populations. In the present paper we tested the robustness of overlap between psychosis-proneness and ADHD/ASD symptoms, by studying correlations between the scores of three commonly-used questionnaires assessing delusion-proneness (Peters’ Delusion Inventory), ADHD tendencies (Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale) and ASD tendencies (Autism Quotient), on a large sample of healthy individuals (n=925) using raw scores, prototypical questions and a factor analysis. The results showed consistently positive correlations between psychosis-proneness and ADHD-, as well as ASD-symptoms. While the effect was weak for ASD, it was moderate for ADHD. The findings support the idea that when investigating psychosis-proneness it is crucial to also take ADHD- and ASD-tendencies into account, in order to conclude that the reported results in a given study are specific to psychosis-proneness. The observed trait correlations also suggest a common pathway in the underlying information processing of these states.

越来越多的证据表明，精神分裂症等精神病性障碍与注意缺陷多动障碍（attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder，ADHD）或孤独症谱系障碍（autism-spectrum disorders，ASD）之间存在显著共病现象。近年来，针对健康个体的精神病易感性（psychosis-proneness）研究，为深入解析精神病性障碍的潜在发病机制提供了极具前景的研究方向。鉴于ADHD与ASD症状在普通人群中呈正态分布，此类特质共病可能会混淆针对精神病易感性的相关研究。因此，明确健康人群中精神病易感性与ADHD、ASD症状的关联程度，对于聚焦于高危或精神病易感群体的研究而言至关重要。本研究针对925名健康个体的大样本，采用原始得分、典型条目以及因素分析方法，对三项常用问卷的得分相关性展开分析：分别为评估妄想易感性的彼得斯妄想量表（Peters’ Delusion Inventory）、评估ADHD倾向的成人注意缺陷多动障碍自我报告量表（Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale），以及评估ASD倾向的孤独症谱系商数（Autism Quotient），以此检验精神病易感性与ADHD/ASD症状之间重叠关联的稳健性。研究结果显示，精神病易感性与ADHD症状、ASD症状之间均存在稳定的正相关关系。其中针对ASD的相关效应较弱，而针对ADHD的相关效应则处于中等水平。本研究结果支持如下观点：在开展精神病易感性相关研究时，必须同时纳入ADHD与ASD倾向的考量，方可得出某一特定研究中的报告结果确实特异性针对精神病易感性的结论。此外，本次观测到的特质相关性也提示，上述几种心理状态的潜在信息加工过程存在共同通路。