The Melbourne Assessment of Schizotypy in Kids: A Useful Measure of Childhood Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Despite being identified as a high risk cohort for psychosis, there has been relatively little research on the clinical presentation and assessment of Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD) in childhood. The current study aimed to develop a measure of childhood SPD (Melbourne Assessment of Schizotypy in Kids (MASK)) and assess discriminant validity against another neurodevelopmental disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Sixty-eight children aged between 5 and 12 (21 SPD, 15 ASD, and 32 typically developing) and their parents were administered the MASK. The MASK is a 57-item semistructured interview that obtains information from the child, their parents, and the clinician. The results showed high internal consistency for the MASK and higher scores in the SPD group. A factor analysis revealed two MASK factors: social/pragmatic symptoms and positive schizotypal symptoms. Both factors were associated with SPD, while only the social/pragmatic factor was associated with ASD. Within the two clinical groups, a receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the MASK (cut-off score: 132 out of 228) was a good indicator of SPD diagnosis. These preliminary MASK findings were reliable and consistent and suggest that childhood SPD is characterised by complex symptomology distinguishable from ASD.