Psychotic-like experiences in help-seeking adolescents: Dimensional exploration and association with different forms of bullying victimization – A developmental social psychiatry perspective

Abstract

In total, 50 PLE-positive adolescents screened from 324 HS adolescents (15.4%) constituted the sample. Paranoia and verbal bullying were the PLEs and form of victimization most represented, respectively. Verbal bullying was strongly associated with paranoia (odds ratio (OR): 4.40, confidence interval (CI): 2.8-5.9, p < .001). Results remained significant after controlling for confounder (socio-demographic, anxiety, depression and for the latter analysis also other forms of victimization). Furthermore, social manipulation showed a strong association of paranoia and physical bullying with grandiosity. Verbal bullying was also associated with psychotic negative symptoms, but controlling for emotional symptoms and other victimization led to a reduction in the effect. Men were more involved in physical victimization and experienced grandiosity; on the contrary, late adolescents were most involved in social victimization and negative psychotic symptoms Conclusion: PLEs are relevant in HS adolescents. Bullying victimization interacts with the onset of these phenomena. In particular, verbal bullying predicted paranoia onset significantly.

Association Between Paranoia And Anorexia Nervosa In Adolescents: What Factors Are Involved?&nbsp;

“…Results demonstrated that paranoia was dimensionally distributed in adolescent with AN and/or ED NOS. Our descriptive were higher than those of Ronald et al (mean 12,14 and median 10,00) in the general population but lower than in adolescent help seeking screened positive for PLEs (mean 34.64 and median 38) (22,23). This may have importance because EDs population could potential be at risk for psychotic symptoms (5).…”

“…. We already used this scale for other study (23). Other variables we collected demographical and personal data from patient's clinical records.…”

“…Freeman et al pointed out that emotional disorders frequently develop prior to and accompany psychosis and that they may in uence the content of delusions and hallucinations (18,20). PLEs are common among adolescents (21) and among these paranoia is one of the most frequent in terms of occurrence (22,23). Garety et al described a psychological model in which the interplay between biological, psychological and social factors contribute to the development of positive psychotic symptoms (24) and more in detail paranoia may build upon emotional concerns such as social anxiety and interpersonal worry themes (25).…”

Terminology and assessment tools of psychosis: A systematic narrative review

“…Many reported the term as belonging outside of psychotic disorders . Definitions included ‘psychotic symptoms experienced by a part of the healthy population without frank disorder’, ‘subclinical psychotic phenomena like perceptual anomalies and delusion‐like experiences in the absence of manifest psychotic illness’, and ‘mild and/or transient forms of the experiences and symptoms reported by schizophrenia patients’ found among ‘psychosis‐prone individuals’ . Psychotic experiences and PLE have similarly been considered as psychotic symptoms ‘in an attenuated form’, and ‘experiences hallucinatory or delusional in nature but with reality testing remaining intact.’ PLE are also defined as ‘mild versions of psychotic symptoms’ .…”

Details of the Contents of Paranoid Thoughts in Help-Seeking Adolescents with Psychotic-Like Experiences and Continuity with Bullying and Victimization: A Pilot Study

“…There is evidence on the thematic continuity (thematic link) between the stressful experiences of life and the contents of delusional thinking [ 12 ]; furthermore, stressful experiences could not only play a role in the development of psychotic symptoms, but also may shape their contents and form [ 12 , 13 ]. From this perspective, in a developmental social psychiatry framework, verbal and social bullying and paranoia are strictly associated, as seen in a sample of help-seeking adolescents who have had PLEs [ 14 ]. To continue on this path, we used a model that includes not only the presence of paranoid thoughts but also the content of those thoughts.…”