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.

中文翻译：

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精神病中的自闭症症状和社会功能：一种网络方法

摘要

精神病和自闭症症状与精神病 (PD) 个体的社会功能有关。本研究使用网络方法 (1) 评估自闭症症状、精神病症状和社会功能之间的相互作用，以及 (2) 调查患有和未患有 PD 的个体之间的关系是否相似。我们在 504 名 PD、572 名精神病家族风险 (FR) 和 337 名典型比较 (TC) 样本中估计了一个无向网络模型，平均年龄为 34.9 岁。使用自闭症谱商（AQ；5 个节点）和心理体验社区评估（CAPE；9 个节点）评估症状。使用社会功能量表（SFS；7 个节点）测量社会功能。我们确定了 FR 和 PD 样本在整体强度方面的统计学显着差异（P < .001) 和网络结构 ( P < .001)。我们的研究结果表明，自闭症症状（社交互动节点）与社会功能（退缩、人际行为）呈负相关，并且与精神病症状相比更为密切。PD 网络比 FR 和 TC 网络观察到更多和更强的节点之间的连接，而后 2 个在密度 ( P = .11) 和网络结构 ( P = .19) 上相似。PD最核心的优势是奇异的经历、社交技巧和偏执狂。. 总之，特定的自闭症症状与整个精神病谱的社会功能呈负相关，但在 PD 网络中，症状可能更容易相互强化。这些发现强调需要提高对精神病患者合并自闭症症状的临床认识。