Self and world experience in non-affective first episode of psychosis.
Luís Madeira, Elizabeth Pienkos, Teresa Filipe, Mariana Melo, Guilherme Queiroz, João Eira, Cristina Costa, Maria Luísa Figueira, Louis Sass
Schizophrenia Research September 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.07.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 48 |
| Population | Hospital outpatients with non-affective first-episode psychosis and healthy-control participants |
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Lived world Psychopathology Psychosis Schizophrenia Self-disorders |
| Citations | 18 |
| Key findings | First-episode psychosis patients had significantly higher EAWE and EASE scores than healthy controls, and the scores were highly correlated, indicating that anomalous world experiences are linked to self-disturbances in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. |
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.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences | 1980 | Retrospective study | n = 78 |
| Visual Phenomenology of the LSD Flashback Persons with a history of LSD use | 1983 | Observational cohort | n = 123 |
| The neurophenomenology of neutral hypnosis. Individuals of high, medium, and low hypnotizability | 2013 | Observational cohort | n = 37 |
| The Phenomenology of Acute Organic Psychosis Patients with acute organic psychosis and acute schizophrenics | 1987 | Observational cohort | n = 148 |
| EEG oscillatory states as neuro-phenomenology of consciousness as revealed from patients in vegetative and minimally conscious states. Brain-damaged patients with disorders of consciousness and healthy-conscious subjects | 2012 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Psychotic Arousal and the Psychopathology of Acute Schizophrenia: An Exploratory Study of the Experiential Emotional State in Acute Psychosis Journal of Clinical Medicine September 15, 2024
- Anomalous self-experiences in biotypes of psychosis European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience June 5, 2026
- INTEGRATING PHENOMENOLOGICAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND GROUP VISUAL ART THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM DISORDERS. Psychopathology May 19, 2026
- Basic Self-disorders Across Psychiatric Diagnoses and Risk Syndromes: An Updated Meta-analysis. Schizophrenia Bulletin April 1, 2026
- Anomalous Self- and World Experiences in Depersonalization Traits: a Qualitative Study
Cites 15
- Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry 2003
- Self-disturbance and schizophrenia: structure, specificity, pathogenesis (Current issues, New directions). Schizophrenia Research 2014
- Anomalous self-experience in depersonalization and schizophrenia: a comparative investigation. Consciousness and Cognition June 1, 2013
- Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Consciousness and Cognition July 1, 2016
- Introspection and schizophrenia: a comparative investigation of anomalous self experiences. Consciousness and Cognition September 1, 2013
and 10 more in the library