Citation

Rasmussen AR, Reich D, Lavoie S, Li E, Hartmann JA, McHugh M, Whitford TJ, Nelson B. Early Interv. Psychiatry 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/eip.12850

PMID

31264785

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The notion of basic self-disturbance has been proposed as a core feature of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and as an indicator of future transition to psychosis in high-risk populations. However, the relation of this notion to many clinical characteristics has not been explored. The aim of this study was: (a) to investigate the distribution of self-disturbance and other symptoms dimensions in ultra-high risk (UHR), first-episode psychosis (FEP) and healthy control groups; and (b) to explore the association of self-disturbance with a history of self-harm, suicidal attempt, eating disorder symptomatology, school bullying victimization and sexual or physical abuse.

METHODS: Patients with UHR status (n = 38) or FEP (n = 26) and healthy controls (n = 33) were assessed with the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) and the Comprehensive Assessment of at Risk Mental States (CAARMS). The clinical-historical variables were assessed through medical records.

RESULTS: The FEP group scored significantly higher on the EASE than the UHR group, which scored significantly higher than the healthy control group, which had a very low score. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that higher EASE score was significantly associated with a history of self-harm, disordered eating and bullying victimization (but not with suicide attempts or sexual/physical abuse) after controlling for positive, negative and depressive symptoms.

CONCLUSION: These novel findings suggest that self-disturbance may be related to a history of school bullying victimization, self-harm and eating disorder symptomatology in patients with or at-risk of psychosis. If further confirmed, these findings are potentially relevant to clinical risk assessment and therapy.

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

bullying; childhood trauma; first episode psychosis; self-disorder; suicide; ultra-high risk