Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study
1. Background: Autism spectrum disorder and psychotic risk show several overlapping symptoms, so differential diagnosis is often difficult. In addition, there is a high rate of comorbidity between the two conditions, which further complicates the work of clinicians. We evaluated the presence of subt...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/3/372 |
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| author | Valeria Mammarella Elena Monducci Alessia Maffucci Letizia Terenzi Mauro Ferrara Carla Sogos |
| author_facet | Valeria Mammarella Elena Monducci Alessia Maffucci Letizia Terenzi Mauro Ferrara Carla Sogos |
| author_sort | Valeria Mammarella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 1. Background: Autism spectrum disorder and psychotic risk show several overlapping symptoms, so differential diagnosis is often difficult. In addition, there is a high rate of comorbidity between the two conditions, which further complicates the work of clinicians. We evaluated the presence of subthreshold psychotic symptoms and/or defined psychotic risk syndromes in autistic children and adolescents; we compared the prevalence, type, and severity of psychotic risk symptoms with those of a group of non-autistic patients at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P). 2. Methods: In total, 23 autistic patients and 14 CHR-P patients without autism (aged 8–17) were enrolled in the study. The main assessment was made through clinical interviews for autism (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition—ADOS-2, Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised—ADI-R) and psychotic risk (Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument, Child and Youth version—SPI-CY, Structured Interview for Psychosis Risk Syndromes—SIPS). 3. Results: No above-threshold psychotic risk symptoms were detected in our autistic patients, but subthreshold psychotic symptoms were identified in all areas. Specific items from all four dimensions of SIPS appear to be more specific for psychotic risk than autism without comorbidity. 4. Conclusions: An a priori screening of psychotic risk in neurodiverse populations is fundamental to prevent more severe conditions. Research should clarify the effective specificity of the available tools to modify them to improve their detection capability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:25:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2be7acad7c2244778fe9c923634c7727 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:25:22Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-2be7acad7c2244778fe9c923634c77272024-03-27T13:31:16ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672024-03-0111337210.3390/children11030372Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary StudyValeria Mammarella0Elena Monducci1Alessia Maffucci2Letizia Terenzi3Mauro Ferrara4Carla Sogos5Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy1. Background: Autism spectrum disorder and psychotic risk show several overlapping symptoms, so differential diagnosis is often difficult. In addition, there is a high rate of comorbidity between the two conditions, which further complicates the work of clinicians. We evaluated the presence of subthreshold psychotic symptoms and/or defined psychotic risk syndromes in autistic children and adolescents; we compared the prevalence, type, and severity of psychotic risk symptoms with those of a group of non-autistic patients at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-P). 2. Methods: In total, 23 autistic patients and 14 CHR-P patients without autism (aged 8–17) were enrolled in the study. The main assessment was made through clinical interviews for autism (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition—ADOS-2, Autism Diagnostic Interview, Revised—ADI-R) and psychotic risk (Schizophrenia Proneness Instrument, Child and Youth version—SPI-CY, Structured Interview for Psychosis Risk Syndromes—SIPS). 3. Results: No above-threshold psychotic risk symptoms were detected in our autistic patients, but subthreshold psychotic symptoms were identified in all areas. Specific items from all four dimensions of SIPS appear to be more specific for psychotic risk than autism without comorbidity. 4. Conclusions: An a priori screening of psychotic risk in neurodiverse populations is fundamental to prevent more severe conditions. Research should clarify the effective specificity of the available tools to modify them to improve their detection capability.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/3/372autismchildrenadolescentpsychosisriskevaluation |
| spellingShingle | Valeria Mammarella Elena Monducci Alessia Maffucci Letizia Terenzi Mauro Ferrara Carla Sogos Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study Children autism children adolescent psychosis risk evaluation |
| title | Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study |
| title_full | Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study |
| title_short | Assessment of Psychotic Risk in a Sample of Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder Compared to a Group of “Clinical High Risk” Patients: A Preliminary Study |
| title_sort | assessment of psychotic risk in a sample of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder compared to a group of clinical high risk patients a preliminary study |
| topic | autism children adolescent psychosis risk evaluation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/11/3/372 |
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