Neurodevelopmental and clinical problems in childhood often precede adult Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders.
We investigated if children attending a psychiatric clinic presented more psychopathology and cognitive and motor alterations if there was a family history of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder diagnosis. We also searched if there was a relationship between borderline/clinical scores (≥65) in Child Behavior Checklist (subscale Thought Problems) and increased problems in motor and cognitive performance.
MethodsSeventy-five children (aged 7 to 16; mean 12 y/o; 53% males) were recruited (45 reported family history -seven of them first degree-). They completed the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V), Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2), social cognition from the Developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment (NEPSY-II) and Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT-3). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF-2).
ResultsA neurodevelopmental disorder was the primary diagnosis in 65% (mainly ADHD). Motor performance and emotion recognition were below expected by age, and IQ was average. No relevant differences in relation to family history were found. Patients with high scores (≥65) in the CBCL Thought Problems subscale (n = 38) were older, more often presented a diagnosis of combined ADHD, performed worse in Emotion Recognition (and more often made “angry” errors), had Executive Function problems and clinical symptoms in subscales Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawal/Depressed and Attention problems.
ConclusionsIn children attending a psychiatric clinic, elevated scores on CBCL Thought Problems subscale associates with more urban upbringing, more internalizing clinical problems, executive function, and facial emotion recognition difficulties, with a tendency to report “angry” to other emotions.