Schizotypal and obsessive–compulsive traits: Co-occurrence rate and relationship with executive function, emotion experience, and emotion expressivity in college students

Abstract

Empirical findings suggest that there is an overlap between schizophrenia and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). These disorders also have a high comorbidity rate. However, little is known about the impact of co-occurring schizotypal and obsessive–compulsive traits on executive function, emotion experience, and emotion expressivity in the normal population. The present study examined the prevalence of coexisting schizotypal and obsessive–compulsive traits and the relationship between these two traits in a sample of healthy college students. We also conducted a moderation analysis to explore the effect of these two type of traits on executive function, emotion experience, and emotion expressivity. We recruited 3,319 participants to complete the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and the Obsessive–Compulsive Inventory – Revised (OCI-R). A subset of them (n = 575) also completed the Chinese versions of the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX), the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS), and the Emotional Expressivity Scale (EES). We found that the prevalence of co-occurring schizotypal and OCD traits was 3.33%. All the subscales of the SPQ and the OCI-R significantly correlated with each other. Both traits had a negative impact on executive function and emotion expressivity. The interaction between the disorganization dimension of schizotypal traits and OCD traits had a significant effect on executive function, but not emotion experience or emotion expressivity. This study was limited by its cross-sectional design and recruitment of only college students. These findings suggest that there is an approximately 3% rate of co-occurring schizotypal and obsessive–compulsive traits in a healthy college student sample. The interaction between these two types of traits may influence executive function.