A network model of the aetiology of schizotypal personality: evidence for the central role of mentalization, disorganization, and PTSD-symptoms
Schizotypal personality traits are related to exposure to childhood trauma and to neurodevelopmental anomalies. Mentalization, attachment, openness, intellect, and social support are factors that may mediate or buffer the effect of such risk factors. However, to date, no study has investigated the associations between these constructs and schizotypy in a single model. We collected data in a large and demographically heterogeneous general population sample (N = 3441, 68% female, mean age = 39 years). We assessed schizotypal traits, environmental factors such as early traumas and perceived social support during adolescence, and putative mediators and protective factors such as openness/intellect, mentalization, and attachment. We estimated a Gaussian Graphical Model to examine the complex multivariate associations between the above constructs. Bootstrapping showed that the model was reliable. The importance of nodes was inferred using node centralities. Mentalization, disorganized schizotypy, and PTSD-like symptoms were the most central nodes in terms of strength and closeness. Disorganized schizotypy was related to early developmental anomalies, positive and negative schizotypy, and reduced intellect, mentalization was primarily related to reduced attachment avoidance and anxiety, while PTSD-like symptoms were linked to traumas and attachment anxiety. The results are in line with theories that emphasize the importance of mentalization and disorganized schizotypy in outcomes related to the extended psychosis-spectrum phenotypes. The findings may facilitate the generation of hypotheses for prospective and intervention studies.