title: Co-occurrence of autistic and schizotypal traits and its association with emotional and psychosocial function in Chinese college students.
abstract: Empirical findings suggest an overlap between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Co-occurring autistic and positive schizotypal traits may have a moderating effect on behaviour and cognition. This study attempted to examine the co-occurrence rate of autistic and schizotypal traits in otherwise healthy college students and to test the moderating effect of co-occurring autistic and schizotypal traits on executive function, emotion processing and social function. Eight hundred and sixty-four participants took part in the present study. The results showed that the co-occurrence rate of autistic and schizotypal trait was 3.4% at baseline and 2.4% at one-year follow-up. The interaction between autistic traits and schizotypal traits was associated with better executive functioning and social functioning but poorer emotional expression.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; School of Education, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, Hunan, China.
authors.forename: Li-Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Management, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: North China Electric Power University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Song
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (MOE and STCSM), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Castle Peak Hospital, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
authors.forename: Eric F C
authors.initials: EFC
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: rckchan@psych.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Raymond C K
authors.initials: RCK
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002681:China; D015897:Comorbidity; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Autistic traits; Emotion; Psychosocial function; Schizophrenia spectrum disorder; Schizotypal traits