Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD): Pathogenesis and clinical findings

Cognitive-Perceptual

 • Magical thinking - Belief in paranormal or supernatural phenomena, such as superstitions, telepathy, weird fantasies

 • Ideas of Reference  - Believing coincidences have strong personal significance

 • Unusual Perceptions - Seeing a halo or aura, presence of unseen force, or bodily illusions

 • Paranoia / Suspiciousness - Can range from persistent and overt hostility, guardedness to pleasant and agreeable compliance

Oddness/Disorganized:

 • Eccentric behavior or appearance - Unconventional or idiosyncratic hygiene, attire, or social behaviors

 • Unusual thinking or speech - Speech and thought process can be vague, unelaborate, circumstantial, metaphorical, or stereotyped but not grossly incoherent or blocked

 • Constricted Affect 

Interpersonal:

 • Lack Close Friends - Deficit in finding social interactions gratifying, a form of social anhedonia

 • Social Anxiety - Unrelenting, situationally generalized, unconditional, and does not tend to lessen with familiarity



SPD Mnemonic: ME PECULIAR

 - Magical thinking

 - Experiences unusual perceptions

 - Paranoid / suspicious ideation

 - Eccentric behavior or appearance

 - Constricted or inappropriate affect

 - Unusual thinking or speech

 - Lacks close friends

 - Ideas of reference

 - Anxiety in social situations

 - Rule out psychotic or pervasive developmental disorders



Dx: >5 present in a variety of contexts causing marked social impairment



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