Psychotic-like experiences in non-clinical subgroups with and without specific beliefs

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) exist on a continuum between clinical and non-clinical populations.
• Research suggests varying proneness and clinical impact of PLEs across different subgroups.
• This study investigates PLE prevalence in relation to specific belief systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the prevalence of PLEs in individuals with religious beliefs (RB), belief in esoterism (EB), and non-believers (NB).
• To determine if proneness to PLEs differs based on traditional versus less traditional supernatural beliefs.
• To contribute to understanding subgroups within non-clinical samples at higher risk for PLEs.

Main Methods:

• Assessed PLEs using the 16-item Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16).
• Compared PLE scores across three groups: RB (n=41), EB (n=43), and NB (n=75).
• Included participants aged 18-90, analyzing the impact of age and gender.

Main Results:

• EB individuals had significantly higher mean PQ-16 scores (6.86 ± 4.13) compared to NB (3.43 ± 2.99) and RB (3.38 ± 3.23) groups (p < 0.001).
• No significant difference in PQ-16 scores was found between NB and RB groups (p = 0.935).
• Belief in esoterism was associated with higher PLE scores, irrespective of age or gender.

Conclusions:

• Findings support a transdiagnostic psychosis phenotype, highlighting specific subgroups with higher PLE likelihood.
• Individuals with esoterist beliefs demonstrate a greater proneness to psychotic-like experiences.
• Belief systems, particularly esoterism, are associated with variations in PLE prevalence within non-clinical populations.