Evaluating the PANSS-Autism-Severity-Score in Psychosis
Author Information
Author(s): Chisholm Katharine, Schirmbeck Frederike, Pinkham Amy E, Sasson Noah J, Simons Claudia J P, de Haan Lieuwe, Harvey Philip D, Penn David L, Ziermans Tim
Primary Institution: Aston University
Hypothesis
The study hypothesized that SSD-siblings would show higher PAUSS scores than typically developing controls and lower scores than schizophrenia and autism cohorts.
Conclusion
The PAUSS does not appear suitable for assessing autism traits, as it may capture features of psychosis instead.
Supporting Evidence
- SSD participants reported higher PAUSS scores than other groups.
- Only a fraction of ASC participants scored as 'PAUSS-Autistic'.
- Two-week stability of the PAUSS was fair to good for all scores.
- Long-term stability was poor for most PAUSS items.
Takeaway
The study looked at a test that measures autism traits in people with psychosis and found it doesn't work well for that purpose.
Methodology
Participants were derived from the GROUP and SCOPE datasets, including adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, their siblings, adults with autism, and typically developing controls, with analyses on PAUSS scores and test-retest reliability.
Potential Biases
The PAUSS may be influenced by state-like psychotic symptoms rather than true autistic traits.
Limitations
The PAUSS has not been fully validated externally, and the study's findings may not generalize to all populations due to sample differences.
Participant Demographics
Participants included 1448 adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorder, 800 SSD-siblings, 103 adults with autism, and 409 typically developing controls.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
95% CI 0.887–0.965
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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