title: Interpersonal sensitivity and functioning impairment in youth at ultra-high risk for psychosis.
abstract: A personality trait that often elicits poor and uneasy interpersonal relationships is interpersonal sensitivity. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and psychosocial functioning in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis as compared to help-seeking individuals who screened negative for an ultra-high risk of psychosis. A total sample of 147 adolescents and young adult who were help seeking for emerging mental health problems participated in the study. The sample was divided into two groups: 39 individuals who met criteria for an ultra-high-risk mental state (UHR), and 108 (NS). The whole sample completed the Interpersonal Sensitivity Measure (IPSM) and the Global Functioning: Social and Role Scale (GF:SS; GF:RS). Mediation analysis was used to explore whether attenuated negative symptoms mediated the relationship between interpersonal sensitivity and social functioning. Individuals with UHR state showed higher IPSM scores and lower GF:SS and GF:RS scores than NS participants. A statistically negative significant correlation between two IPSM subscales (Interpersonal Awareness and Timidity) and GF:SS was found in both groups. Our results also suggest that the relationship between the aforementioned aspects of interpersonal sensitivity and social functioning was not mediated by negative prodromal symptoms. This study suggests that some aspects of interpersonal sensitivity were associated with low level of social functioning. Assessing and treating interpersonal sensitivity may be a promising therapeutic target to improve social functioning in young help-seeking individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Box P077, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK. lucia.valmaggia@kcl.ac.uk.|South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK. lucia.valmaggia@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Valmaggia
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Saba
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brandizzi
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lindau
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Solfanelli
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Curto
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Narilli
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Telesforo
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Kotzalidis
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Service, ASL Rome H, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Pietro
authors.affiliation: Community Mental Health Service, ASL Rome H, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Alema
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Functions (NESMOS) Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Girardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fiori Nastro
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D062706:Prodromal Symptoms; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012917:Social Adjustment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Interpersonal sensitivity; Negative prodromal symptoms; Social functioning; Ultra-high risk