The Community Assessment Psychic Experience (CAPE): evaluation study of the Italian version

The joint hierarchical structure of psychopathology and dysfunctional personality domain indicators among community-dwelling adults

To examine the hierarchical structure of psychopathology and dysfunctional personality domains, 2416 Italian community-dwelling adult volunteers were administered a set of psychometrically sound psychopathology measures and the Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Brief Form+ (PID-5-BF+). Parallel analysis, minimum average partial, and very simple structure results suggested that 1-6 principal components (PCs) should be retained. Goldberg's bass-ackwards model of the joint psychopathology measure and PID-5-BF+ ipsatized domain scale correlation matrix evidenced a hierarchical structure that was consistent with the working model proposed by the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) consortium. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis around latent variables of the psychopathology indicators and PID-5-BF+ domain scales recovered four latent dimensions, which were akin to the corresponding bass-ackwards components and nicely reproduced the HiTOP Internalizing, Externalizing, Thought Disorder, and Eating Pathology dimensions.

Post-traumatic disorder symptom severity in the perspective of hierarchical taxonomy of psychopathology spectra and dysfunctional personality domains among trauma-exposed community-dwelling women

To assess the relationships between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) components, Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) spectra, and dysfunctional personality domains, the Post-Traumatic Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5); the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form+ (PID-5BF+); and self-report measures of HiTOP Internalizing, Thought Disorders, and Externalizing spectra were administered to 387 trauma-exposed Italian community-dwelling women. Before structural equation modeling (SEM), measurement components of models were assessed using confirmatory factor analyses. Both taxometric and Gaussian mixture analysis results were consistent with a dimensional representation of the PCL-5 scores. SEM results showed that PTSD components, at least as they were operationalized by the PCL-5 scores, were positively, significantly, and substantially associated with HiTOP Internalizing and Thought Disorder Spectra latent dimensions, as well as with Negative Affectivity, Detachment, and Psychoticism personality domains.

Validation of the Portuguese version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences and characterization of psychotic experiences in a Brazilian sample

Objective:

We investigated: i) the reliability and validity of a Brazilian version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), developed to detect and characterize psychotic experiences in the general population; and ii) the association between psychotic experiences, childhood adversity, and cannabis use in a population-based sample.

Methods:

We performed factorial analyses and generalized linear models with CAPE scores as the dependent variable in a sample composed of 217 first-episode psychosis patients, 104 unaffected biological siblings, and 319 non-psychotic population-based participants.

Results:

After removing seven items from its positive dimension and two items from its negative dimension, a 33-item Brazilian version of the CAPE showed acceptable adjustment indices (confirmatory fit index = 0.895; goodness of fit index = 0.822; parsimony goodness of fit index = 0.761; root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.055, p [RMSEA ≤ 0.05] = 0.04) and internal consistency in all its dimensions (> 0.70). Childhood adversity was associated with higher scores in all three dimensions, as well as with total score. Lifetime cannabis use was associated with higher scores only in the positive dimension.

Conclusion:

The proposed Brazilian version of the CAPE corroborates the tridimensional approach for assessing psychosis-proneness, and the frequency and severity of psychotic manifestations are distributed as a spectrum in the general population.

Current developments and challenges in the assessment of negative symptoms

Reliable and valid assessment of negative symptoms is crucial to further develop etiological models and improve treatments. Our understanding of the concept of negative symptoms has undergone significant advances since the introduction of quantitative assessments of negative symptoms in the 1980s. These include the conceptualization of cognitive dysfunction as separate from negative symptoms and the distinction of two main negative symptom factors (avolition and diminished expression). In this review we provide an overview of existing negative symptom scales, focusing on both observer-rated and self-rated measurement of negative symptoms. We also distinguish between measures that assess negative symptoms as part of a broader assessment of schizophrenia symptoms, those specifically developed for negative symptoms and those that assess specific domains of negative symptoms within and beyond the context of psychotic disorders. We critically discuss strengths and limitations of these measures in the light of some existing challenges, i.e. observed and subjective symptom experiences, the challenge of distinguishing between primary and secondary negative symptoms, and the overlap between negative symptoms and related factors (e.g. personality traits and premorbid functioning). This review is aimed to inform the ongoing development of negative symptom scales.

Psychotic experience subtypes, poor mental health status and help-seeking behaviour in a community sample of young adults

BACKGROUND

Different subtypes of psychotic experiences (PEs) have been identified in clinical and non-clinical samples. Researchers have considered these PEs to either be variations of personality or expressions of vulnerability to psychotic disorder. This study aimed to determine which particular subtypes of PEs were more likely to be associated with poor mental health status and help-seeking behaviour in a non-clinical sample of young adults.

METHODS

The study was conducted on a community sample of 997 young adults. The prevalence of PEs and distress was measured using the community assessment of psychic experiences (CAPE), depressive and anxiety symptoms were measured using Beck depression inventory-II and Beck anxiety inventory, and general functioning was measured using the general health questionnaire-12. Factorial analysis of the CAPE positive dimension was conducted and correlations between factors and clinical variables were analysed.

RESULTS

Four PE subtypes were identified: perceptual abnormalities, persecutory ideas (PI), bizarre experiences, and magical thinking. At least one high frequency PI was endorsed by 60.8% (n = 606) of the sample and proved to be significantly associated both with poor mental health status and help-seeking behaviour.

CONCLUSION

PEs subtypes are differentially associated with various markers of poor mental health status. PI seem to have stronger psychopathological significance than other subtypes of PEs. Further longitudinal studies are required to extend these findings.

Dimensional, non-taxonic latent structure of psychotic symptoms in a student sample

INTRODUCTION

We examined the construct of psychosis using the self-report instrument CAPE (Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences) in a sample of 1,323 students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Taxometric analysis was carried out using Taxometric Programs for the R Computing Environment. The MAXCOV CCFI was 0.34, indicating a dimensional latent structure. All other taxometric analysis yielded very similar results indicative of dimensional structure.

CONCLUSION

In this study, using powerful analytic techniques designed expressly for the purpose, i.e. taxometric analysis, the latent construct of psychosis in a sample of young students appeared to be consistent with a dimensional, non-taxonic latent structure.