Self and world experience in non-affective first episode of psychosis

Abstract

A disturbance of “minimal self,” — of the immediate sense of mine-ness inherent in experience—is hypothesized to be the core disturbance in schizophrenia. Research with the Examination of Anomalous Self Experience (EASE) has demonstrated the selective aggregation of anomalous self-experiences in the schizophrenia spectrum. Conceptual research suggests that anomalous world experiences, including changes in the experience of space, time, and other persons, occur alongside anomalous self-experiences and are an important aspect of subjectivity in schizophrenia. The Examination of Anomalous World Experience (EAWE) is a recently published interview format designed to explore changes in world experience in schizophrenia. In the current study, 24 hospital outpatients with non-affective first-episode psychosis and 24 healthy-control participants were assessed with the EAWE and the EASE. First episode psychosis patients had total EAWE and EASE scores that were both, on average, significantly higher than the healthy-control group. EAWE and EASE scores were highly correlated, even after removing overlapping items. The distribution of EAWE items and subtypes in the first-episode psychosis sample was heterogeneous. We conclude that anomalous world experiences represent a relevant aspect of first-episode psychosis, and that they may be related to the self-disturbances thought to underlie schizophrenia spectrum disorders.