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Although the literature on hallucinations in psychiatric patients shows clear links with anxiety and depression, associations of affect with a wider array of anomalous perceptual experiences have been much less studied. This study investigated patients with psychosis (N= 29) and a non-clinical population (N= 193) using the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale (CAPS), a measure of perceptual distortion and associated distress, intrusiveness and frequency; along with measures of depression, anxiety and worry. The study also allowed a re-validation of the CAPS in a more representative sample of the UK population. Moderate, reliable correlations with depression, anxiety and worry were found in the non-clinical population with the association being stronger in psychotic patients. The study re-confirmed that anomalous perceptual experiences are common in the general population and that a significant minority (11.9%) have higher levels than the mean of psychotic patients. Scale reliability and validity were also re-confirmed, and the CAPS score was found to be unrelated to age or gender in either sample. As in the original study, factor analysis produced a three-factor solution, although factor theme was not fully replicated: as before, a cluster of first-rank symptoms emerged, but with equivocal evidence for a temporal lobe factor and no replication of a 'chemosensation' component. © 2011.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2011.05.025

Type

Journal article

Journal

Psychiatry Research

Publication Date

30/10/2011

Volume

189

Pages

451 - 457