Characterizing the relationship between personality dimensions and psychosis-specific clinical characteristics

Past studies associating personality with psychosis have been limited by small nonclinical samples and a focus on general symptom burden. This study uses a large clinical sample to examine personality's relationship with psychosis-specific features and compare personality dimensions across clinically and neurobiologically defined categories of psychoses.

A total of 1352 participants with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar with psychosis, as well as 623 healthy controls (HC), drawn from the Bipolar-Schizophrenia Network for Intermediate Phenotypes (BSNIP-2) study, were included. Three biomarker-derived biotypes were used to separately categorize the probands. Mean personality factors (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) were compared between HC and proband subgroups using a generalized linear model. A robust linear regression was utilized to determine personality differences across biotypes and diagnostic subgroups. Associations between personality factors and cognition were determined through Pearson's correlation. A canonical correlation was run between the personality factors and general functioning, positive symptoms, and negative symptoms to delineate the relationship between personality and clinical outcomes of psychosis.

There were significant personality differences between the proband and HC groups across all five personality factors. Overall, the probands had higher neuroticism and lower extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness. Openness showed the greatest difference across the diagnostic subgroups and biotypes, and greatest correlation with cognition. Openness, agreeableness, and extraversion had the strongest associations with symptom severity.

Individuals with psychotic disorders have different personality traits compared to HC. In particular, openness may be relevant in distinguishing psychosis-specific phenotypes and experiences, and associated with biological underpinnings of psychosis, including cognition. Further studies should identify potential causal factors and mediators of this relationship.