Abstract

BACKGROUND
If impairment in social cognition is an important feature of psychosis, characteristics of the social environment may influence the occurrence of psychotic symptoms. The aim of this study was to explore in a non-clinical population whether specific social environments modify the expression of psychotic symptoms in daily life.
METHODS
The Experience Sampling Method was used to collect information on characteristics of the social company and of the daily life psychotic experiences of a sample of 79 students. The level of psychotic symptoms was measured using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).
RESULTS
Subjects with MINI psychosis criteria were at increased risk of experiencing unusual perceptions in the presence of non-familiar individuals, and at lower risk of experiencing strange impressions in the presence of family members or friends. Dynamic changes in the social company rather than the social company per se drive variation of psychotic experiences in daily life.
CONCLUSION
The data suggest that the earliest stages of expression of psychosis vulnerability are driven by subtle person-environment interactions in the stream of daily life.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Verdoux H, Husky M, Tournier M, Sorbara F, Swendsen JD

Institution

Hôpital Charles Perrens, 121 rue de la Béchade, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France. helene.verdoux@ipso.u-bordeaux2.fr

Source

Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology 38:11 2003 Nov pg 654-61

MeSH

Adolescent
Adult
Cognition
Disease Susceptibility
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychotic Disorders
Risk Factors
Sampling Studies
Social Behavior
Social Environment
Students
Universities

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

14614554