Dimensions of psychopathology associated with psychotic-like experiences: Findings from the network analysis in a nonclinical sample

Abstract

Abstract Background Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are associated with a variety of psychopathological symptoms. However, it remains unknown which dimensions of psychopathology are most closely related to the occurrence of PLEs. In this study, we aimed to analyze the association of PLEs with various domains of psychopathology. Methods A total of 1100 nonclinical adults (aged 18–35 years, 51.4% females) with a negative history of psychiatric treatment were surveyed. Assessment of psychopathology was performed using self-reports. Symptoms associated with PLEs were explored as continuous variables and based on clinically relevant thresholds using two separate network analyses. Results In both network analyses, PLEs were directly connected to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms, manic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms. Anxiety symptoms were associated with PLEs only in the network based on threshold scores. Importantly, edge weight for the connection of PLEs and OCD symptoms was significantly higher compared to edge weights of all other direct connections of PLEs with psychopathology in both networks. Edge weight for the connection between PLEs and manic symptoms was significantly higher compared to edge weights for direct connections of PLEs with depressive and ADHD symptoms in the network based on continuous scores of psychopathological symptoms. Edge weights of direct connections of PLEs with depressive, anxiety, and ADHD symptoms did not differ significantly in both networks. Conclusions Our findings indicate that PLEs are associated with multiple domains of psychopathology. However, these phenomena are most strongly associated with OCD symptoms regardless of their severity threshold.