Childhood socioemotional development and growth mindset preceding schizophrenia: case-control study using...

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology
• Schizophrenia Research

Background:

• Understanding premorbid socioemotional trajectories is vital for early schizophrenia identification and prevention.
• Previous studies relied on retrospective designs, introducing potential biases.
• This research focuses on prospectively collected data from childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate premorbid socioemotional characteristics in children who later developed schizophrenia.
• To examine parental support, self-esteem, school motivation, and growth mindset.
• To provide insights beyond retrospective study limitations.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study using prospectively collected data from Chile.
• Compared individuals who developed schizophrenia (n=341) with classmates (n=20,567).
• Analyzed standardized national test data from fourth, eighth, and tenth grades using mixed linear models.

Main Results:

• Children later diagnosed with schizophrenia reported less parental educational support (β = -0.276).
• Girls who later developed schizophrenia reported lower self-esteem and school motivation (β = -0.290).
• Contrary to hypotheses, children who later developed schizophrenia exhibited a higher growth mindset (β = 0.287).

Conclusions:

• Premorbid socioemotional characteristics of schizophrenia are detectable in childhood and can be gender-specific.
• Educational settings offer potential platforms for preventive interventions.
• Interventions should focus on enhancing parental support and monitoring psycho-emotional well-being, considering gender differences.