Encoding style and its relationships with schizotypal traits and impulsivity during adolescence

This study intends to explore how individual differences in encoding style (i.e. how encoding is implicitly affected by pre-existing schemata, so called an internal style, versus by cues from the outside world, so called an external style) are associated with schizotypal traits and impulsivity expression during adolescence. Moreover, we aim to provide first evidence reliability for the encoding style questionnaire with an adolescent sample. 101 French-speaking community adolescents (Mage=16.06, S.D.age=2.01; 57 girls; primarily Caucasian) participated in a cross-sectional study. The whole sample filled out a battery of self-report questionnaires. Our data supports a positive association between a predominant internal encoding style, the level of positive and disorganized schizotypal traits, and a higher degree of urgency and sensation seeking impulsivity components. On the one hand, these results have clinical implications in the sense that a low level in implicit processing, namely encoding style, is involved in positive and disorganized schizotypal traits as well as in impulsivity. Schizotypal traits and impulsivity are two sets of traits that put youth at risk for the development of severe psychopathological states in adulthood. On the other hand, this research enables an increased understanding of encoding style by providing the first reliable assessment tool for French-speaking adolescents.