Cognitive and Global Morphometry Trajectories as Predictors of Youth Persistent Distressing Psychotic-Like Experiences

Abstract

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) may arise from genetic and environmental risk leading to worsening cognitive and morphometry metrics over time, which in turn lead to worsening PLEs. Analyses used three waves of unique longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study data (ages 9-13) to test whether changes in cognition and global morphometry metrics attenuate associations between genetic and environmental risk with persistent distressing PLEs. Multigroup univariate latent growth models examined three waves of cognitive metrics and global morphometry separately for three PLE groups: persistent distressing PLEs (n=356), transient distressing PLEs (n=408), and low-level PLEs (n=7901). Persistent distressing PLEs showed greater decreases (i.e., more negative slopes) of cognition and morphometry metrics over time compared to those in low-level PLE groups. Analyses also provided novel evidence for extant theories that worsening cognition and global morphometry metrics may partially account for associations between environmental risk with persistent distressing PLEs.

Keywords: Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study; adolescence; environment; genetic liability; psychotic-like experiences; trajectories.

Figure 1.

Cognitive and global morphometry metric slope estimates from growth curve models (z-scored across the entire sample; error bars represent standard errors) for low-level psychotic-like experiences (PLEs; n=7901), persistent distressing PLEs (n=356), and transient distressing PLEs (n=408) groups when including covariates (i.e., age, sex, pubertal status). Negative slope estimates indicate decreasing scores over time. Data points reflect model-derived estimates. Error bars represent the standard error of the estimated slope from the growth curve model.

Figure 2.

(A) Slope estimates for growth curve models examining associations between environmental risk with Persistent Distressing PLEs (n=356) vs. Low-level PLEs (n=7901) either with or without accounting for cognitive or imaging metric slopes (error bars represent standard errors). Positive estimates indicate greater associations between environment risk with Persistent Distressing PLEs. Bars reflect model-derived slopes estimates. Error bars represent the standard error of the estimated indirect effect from the growth curve model. (B) Estimated proportion of the association between environmental risk with Persistent Distressing PLEs vs. Low-level PLEs attenuated when accounting for each cognitive or imaging metric slope metric.