Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2012
The psychosis-proneness–persistence–impairment model of psychotic disorder incorporates notions of both phenomenological and temporal continuity (persistence) of psychotic experiences (PE), but not structural continuity. Specific testable propositions of phenomenological continuity and persistence are identified.
Propositions are tested by systematic reviews of the epidemiology of PE, persistence of PE and disorder outcomes, and meta-analyses (including Monte Carlo permutation sampling, MCPS) of reported rates and odds ratios (ORs).
Estimates of the incidence and prevalence of PE obtained from 61 cohorts revealed a median annual incidence of 2.5% and a prevalence of 7.2%. Meta-analysis of risk factors identified age, minority or migrant status, income, education, employment, marital status, alcohol use, cannabis use, stress, urbanicity and family history of mental illness as important predictors of PE. The mode of assessment accounted for significant variance in the observed rates. Across cohorts, the probability of persistence was very strongly related to the rate of PE at baseline. Of those who report PE, ∼20% go on to experience persistent PE whereas for ∼80%, PE remit over time. Of those with baseline PE, 7.4% develop a psychotic disorder outcome.
Compelling support is found for the phenomenological and temporal continuity between PE and psychotic disorder and for the fundamental proposition that this relationship is probabilistic. However, imprecision in epidemiological research design, measurement limitations and the epiphenomenological nature of PE invite further robust scrutiny of the continuity theory.
To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Dropbox account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Google Drive account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.