Vanessa Zarubin
- Vijay Mittal, Psychology
- Claudia Haase, SESP
Language Development as a Predictor for Long-term Psychosis Vulnerability
Schizophrenia, which affects about 1% of the population, is associated with both positive symptoms (e.g., hallucinations, delusions) and negative symptoms (e.g., cognitive deficits, lack of facial expression of emotion). Signs of risk for developing psychosis are observable prior to the onset of symptoms, and much research focuses on early intervention in adolescence or young adulthood. However, early intervention may not be as effective as prevention. The current project looks at the language produced by pre-school aged children, in particular the complexity of structure and expressions of sense of self, theory of mind (recognizing that others have a different perspective than you), and emotions. Relationships with long-term follow up 5-7 years later characterizing vulnerability to psychosis will be examined. The combination of research in cognitive, developmental, and psychopathology in this project could lead to novel insights improving outcomes for individuals vulnerable to developing psychosis.