Abstract
Background: Ideas of reference (IRs) are observed in the general population on the continuum of the psychotic phenotype (as a type of psychotic-like experiences, PLE). The instruments usually used to evaluate IRs show some problems: They depend on the cooperation of the participant, comprehension of items, social desirability, etc. Aims: The Testal emotional counting Stroop (TECS) was developed for the purpose of improving evaluation of individuals vulnerable to psychosis and its relationship with ideas of reference. The TECS (two versions) was applied as an implicit evaluation instrument for IRs and related processes for early identification of persons vulnerable to psychosis and to test the possible influence of emotional symptomatology. Method: A total of 160 participants (67.5% women) from the general population were selected (Mean (M) = 24.12 years, standard deviation (SD) = 5.28), 48 vulnerable and 112 non-vulnerable. Results: Vulnerability to psychosis was related to greater latency in response to referential stimuli. Version 4 of the TECS showed a slight advantage in identifying more latency in response to referential stimuli among participants with vulnerability to psychosis (Cohen’s d = 1.08). Emotional symptomatology (especially stress), and IQ (premorbid) mediated the relationship between vulnerability and IR response latency. Conclusions: The application of the implicit Testal emotional counting Stroop test (TECS) is useful for evaluating processes related to vulnerability to psychosis, as demonstrated by the increased latency of response to referential stimuli.
Highlights
Study of positive symptoms on a continuum from adapted functioning to psychotic disorders enables research to be directed at their risk or vulnerability factors [1,2]
The sample consisted of 240 subjects aged 17 to 58, with a mean age of 23.97 years (standard deviation (SD) = 4.65), of whom 67.9% were women, at the University of the Republic Litoral Norte Campus (Uruguay)
For the first objective of this study, the hypothesis that participants vulnerable to psychosis would show significantly higher response latency to IRs than the non-vulnerable group was tested by applying two versions of the Testal emotional counting Stroop (TECS)
Summary
Study of positive symptoms on a continuum from adapted functioning to psychotic disorders enables research to be directed at their risk or vulnerability factors [1,2]. Ideas of reference (IRs) are observed in the general population on the continuum of the psychotic phenotype (as a type of psychotic-like experiences, PLE). The TECS (two versions) was applied as an implicit evaluation instrument for IRs and related processes for early identification of persons vulnerable to psychosis and to test the possible influence of emotional symptomatology. Version 4 of the TECS showed a slight advantage in identifying more latency in response to referential stimuli among participants with vulnerability to psychosis (Cohen’s d = 1.08). Conclusions: The application of the implicit Testal emotional counting Stroop test (TECS) is useful for evaluating processes related to vulnerability to psychosis, as demonstrated by the increased latency of response to referential stimuli
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