Hallucinations and related perceptual disturbance in a non-clinical Spanish population

Several studies have suggested the continuity of psychotic symptoms between the general population and clinical samples, and have shown that, in fact, the predisposition to hallucinations is a multi-dimensional construct. However, there is no agreement concerning the number of factors comprising it or the significance of psychotic-like experiences. An examination of the beliefs associated with these experiences could increase knowledge of the continuity of hallucinations.

The purpose of this work was to analyze the structure of the Revized Hallucination Scale (RHS), applied to a sample of Spanish university students to find out the meaning for the participants and their associated beliefs on each item.

The RHS was administered to a total of 265 participants. Along with the frequency of each experience, participants were asked to provide an example of each situation described and to what they attributed it.

The results emphasized the presence of four factors that are variously made up of six types of beliefs: personal difficulties; psychological explanations; dreamlike experiences; vivid thoughts; perceptive distortions; and personal desires.

The relevance of these results with regard to the differences that might exist in hallucinations in clinical and normal populations is discussed.