Psychopathological Differences Between Asperger Syndrome and Schizotypal Disorder in an Adult Sample

Summary

The purpose of this study is to identify psychopathology (psychiatric symptoms) that can differentiate between Schizotypal Disorder (SD) and Asperger Syndrome (normal IQ, no language impairment Autism Spectrum Disorder) (AS) in young adults.

With our present knowledge, the differentiation between AS and SD can be difficult, as they both present with social difficulties, odd (but not psychotic) behaviour, and a 'feeling of not being as everyone else'. Studies suggest that adults with AS symptoms are either overlooked, or diagnosed within the schizophrenia spectrum in Adult Psychiatry.

A 'correct' diagnosis is important, as it is the first step towards the most optimal plan, treatment and rehabilitation for the patient. The only way to diagnose psychiatric illness is the description of present psychopathology.

To identify symptoms that can differentiate between the two disorders, we will use semi-structured interviews to explore present psychopathology in young adults with typical symptoms of SD and AS respectively, with special focus on presence of alterations in self-experience. Alterations in self-experience are typical for the schizophrenia spectrum, and are therefore not thought to be equally present in AS and SD.

The hypotheses are that the total level of altered experiences is higher in SD, than in AS, and with a different pattern of altered experiences in SD than in AS. If the hypotheses are true, an examination of altered self-experience will be valuable to aid clinical differentiation between the two disorders.

Conditions

• Asperger Syndrome
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Interventions

OTHER

Expert panel evaluation

From the medical records, described social and psychiatric history and observed psychiatric symptoms will be summarized and presented to two senior psychiatric consultants. The panels evaluation ensures the identification of subjects with typical symptoms, according to a best estimate clinical consensus. The panel divides the participants into 4 groups: 'participant with symptoms typical of AS', 'participant with symptoms typical of SD', 'participant with inconclusive/non typical symptoms' and 'non eligible participant'.

OTHER

Semi-structured psychopathological interviews

Included participants are asked for a detailed social and developmental history and interviewed with 3 semi-structured interviews: 1. Schedules for Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN); Covering psychopathology and behaviour associated with the major psychiatric disorders. 2. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), module 4; An assessment to identify symptoms within the autism spectrum. 3. Examination of anomalous self-experience (EASE); A checklist for exploration of experiential anomalies. The Ph.D.-student will obtain social and developmental history and carry out SCAN and EASE interviews. ADOS will be carried out by a consultant psychologist at The Danish Autism Centre.

OTHER

Self-administered rating scales

1.The Autism Quotient (AQ), a 50 question scale, for the assessment of autistic traits, 2. The Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), a 74 item scale, for the assessment of schizotypal personality, 3. The WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5), a 5 item scale, for the assessment of subjective psychological well-being.

OTHER

Other general interviewer ratings

1\. Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), a numeric scale (1 through 100) for assessing social, occupational, and psychological functioning, 2. The Clinical Global Impressions scale (CGI-Severity), an assessment of the clinician's global view of the patient's severity of psychopathology on a 7 point scale.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The Danish Autism Centre

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Mental Health Services in the Capital Region, Denmark

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sidse Arnfred, MD, dr.med. · Mental Health Services, Region Zealand, Denmark

• Peter Handest, MD, Ph.d. · Mental Health Services, the Capitol Region, Denmark

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-06-30

Primary Completion

2018-12-31

Completion

2018-12-31

Countries

• Denmark

Study Locations