The nomological network of anomalous self-experiences and schizotypal personality in a nonclinical sample.

Abstract

Anomalous self-experiences (ASEs) are subjective disturbances in the experience of the self and are common among people with psychotic-spectrum disorders. Previous research has shown that ASEs are highly correlated but distinct from other aspects of schizotypal personality. The current study examined the nomological network of ASEs by examining their relations with self-esteem, self-concept clarity, self-consciousness, aberrant salience, dissociation, and Big 5 personality characteristics with and without removing shared variance with schizotypal personality. Using structural equation modeling, ASEs were shown to be associated with decreased self-concept clarity, global self-esteem, self-competence, and self-liking, but higher public and private self-consciousness. ASEs were also associated with increased aberrant salience, dissociation, and maladaptive personality traits including low agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion but increased neuroticism. After removing shared variance with schizotypal personality, ASEs were still associated with self-concept clarity and self-esteem variables, but not with self-consciousness. The relations with aberrant salience, dissociation, and maladaptive personality remained significant (with the exception of extraversion). Cognitive-perceptual schizotypal personality displayed similar relations with self-processing, aberrant salience, dissociation, and maladaptive personality traits as anomalous self-experiences. However, after removing shared variance with anomalous self-experiences, cognitive-perceptual schizotypal personality was positively associated with self-esteem and not associated with self-consciousness or dissociation. Cognitive-perceptual schizotypy was positively associated with conscientiousness and extraversion, and negatively associated with neuroticism. Taken together, these results provide more support for the nomological network of ASEs and suggest that many of the observed relations between schizotypy and these variables may be driven by anomalous self-experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)