OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this study was to analyze the distribution of psychotic-like experiences in nonclinical adolescents. Likewise, we studied in depth the role of gender and age in phenotypal expression of these symptoms. METHOD: A total of 1438 adolescents entered the study, 691 (48.1%) were men, with a mean age of 15.9 years (SD = 1.2). RESULTS: The results indicated that attenuated psychotic symptoms are a very common phenomenon in this age group, since 43% of the sample reported symptoms belonging to magical thinking, ideas of reference, and/or delusion or hallucination experiences, and 8.9% reported 4 or more psychotic-like experiences. Statistical significant differences were found in ideas of reference and paranoid ideation between genders, but not among age groups. CONCLUSION: Our results coincide with those found in previous studies and have clear implications for a better understanding of these psychological phenomena in the framework of developmental psychopathology, and for the implementation of early detection and prevention programs in the population sector.
OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this study was to analyze the distribution of psychotic-like experiences in nonclinical adolescents. Likewise, we studied in depth the role of gender and age in phenotypal expression of these symptoms. METHOD: A total of 1438 adolescents entered the study, 691 (48.1%) were men, with a mean age of 15.9 years (SD = 1.2). RESULTS: The results indicated that attenuated psychotic symptoms are a very common phenomenon in this age group, since 43% of the sample reported symptoms belonging to magical thinking, ideas of reference, and/or delusion or hallucination experiences, and 8.9% reported 4 or more psychotic-like experiences. Statistical significant differences were found in ideas of reference and paranoid ideation between genders, but not among age groups. CONCLUSION: Our results coincide with those found in previous studies and have clear implications for a better understanding of these psychological phenomena in the framework of developmental psychopathology, and for the implementation of early detection and prevention programs in the population sector.
Authors: Daniel Mamah; Akinkunle Owoso; Anne W Mbwayo; Victoria N Mutiso; Susan K Muriungi; Lincoln I Khasakhala; Deanna M Barch; David M Ndetei Journal: Child Psychiatry Hum Dev Date: 2013-06