Understanding psychotic-like experiences in children in the context of dimensions of psychological problems

Although psychotic behaviors can be difficult to assess in children, early identification of children at high risk for the emergence of psychotic symptoms may facilitate the prevention of related disorders. Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), or subthreshold thought and perceptual disturbances, could be early manifestations of psychosis that may predict a future diagnosis of a psychosis-related disorder or nonspecific correlates of a wide range of psychological problems. Additional research is needed regarding how PLEs map onto dimensions of psychopathology in children.

In the present study, we examined the association between PLEs and general and specific dimensions of psychological problems in a sample of 10,692 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD Study).

The results of this study showed that self-reported PLEs were associated with a general psychopathology factor and an ADHD factor, which were defined in hierarchical models of parent-rated psychological problems.

These findings suggest that PLEs are broadly associated with a wide range of psychological problems through the general psychopathology factor even before psychotic disorders typically manifest. This study supports the need for longitudinal analyses of future waves of the ABCD Study to determine if PLEs can detect children at high risk for serious psychological problems in adulthood.