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Can Self-Disorders Be Self-Rated? Theoretical and Empirical Validity of the Inventory of Psychotic-Like Anomalous Self-Experiences.

Mads Gram Henriksen, Håvard Hovstad, Helena Cobanovic, Ida-Marie Mølstrøm, Sofie Ørsted-høyer, Marlene Buch Pedersen, Julie Nordgaard

Psychopathology April 27, 2026 DOI: 10.1159/000552007 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational cohort Qualitative Peer reviewed
Sample size 41
Population Patients with psychosis or schizotypal disorder, patients with other mental disorders, and healthy controls
Topics Philosophy of mind
Keywords Assessment Ease Psychopathology Schizophrenia
Key findings IPASE and EASE total scores were moderately correlated (ρ = 0.54), but qualitative analysis showed IPASE items often captured ordinary experiences, medication effects, or psychotic phenomena rather than self-disorders, undermining IPASE's validity.

Abstract

The Inventory of Psychotic-Like Anomalous Self-Experiences (IPASE) was developed as an easy-to-use, self-report measure of self-disorders. Self-disorders are subtle, trait-like, non-psychotic anomalous self-experiences that are traditionally assessed by trained raters using a semi-structured clinical interview, such as the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE). Whether self-disorders can be validly assessed via self-report measures remains uncertain. This study explores the theoretical and empirical validity of IPASE. Forty-one participants (patients with psychosis or schizotypal disorder, patients with other mental disorders, and healthy controls) completed the IPASE and were subsequently assessed with the EASE. Correlations between total scores of IPASE and EASE were analyzed using Spearman's ρ, and group differences were examined with one-way ANOVA. Participants were also asked to describe the experiences they had in mind when agreeing with IPASE items, enabling a qualitative comparison of IPASE item interpretation relative to EASE phenomena. Scores on IPASE and EASE were moderately correlated (Spearman's ρ = 0.54, p < 0.01), corresponding to approximately 29% shared variance. While participants with higher EASE scores tended to report higher IPASE scores, the overlap was limited. Qualitative analyses showed that ordinary experiences, medication-related sensations, or psychotic phenomena often were the basis for agreement with IPASE items. Our findings suggest that, although related, IPASE and EASE do not measure the same construct. The moderate correlation and qualitative discrepancies cast serious doubts on the alleged validity of IPASE for assessing self-disorders, underscoring the importance of phenomenological-clinical interviewing for assessing such psychopathological phenomena.

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

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