Premorbid personality in psychoses

This study aimed to establish correlates of the dimensions of schizophrenia in the premorbid personality traits of patients. A sample of 112 patients of relatively recent illness onset who were admitted for a psychotic episode were assessed with a semistructured interview for schizophrenia. Positive and negative symptoms were evaluated with the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms and the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms at the time of hospital discharge; positive, negative, and disorganization scores were obtained from these scales. Premorbid personality was assessed blindly through a partially modified version of the Personality Assessment Schedule using interviews with the parents or a close relative. Schizoid traits were significantly associated with negative and positive dimensions. Sociopathic traits were related to the disorganization dimension. Trends toward significance were obtained between passive-dependent traits and the negative and disorganization dimensions, and between the schizotypal dimension and the positive dimension. Partial correlational analyses were used to control for the effect of the remaining personality dimensions on the above relationships. Schizoid premorbid traits were still significantly related to the negative dimension but to a lesser degree to the disorganization and positive dimensions. The association between sociopathic premorbid traits and the disorganization dimension remained significant. These results suggest the preexistence of a three-dimensional structure predisposing to psychoses within the premorbid personality; this structure is more evident in patients with short illness duration.