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Occurrence and phenomenology of hallucinations in the general population: A large online survey

Mascha M J Linszen, Janna De Boer, Maya Schutte, Marieke Begemann, Jacqueline de Vries, Sanne Koops, Renske E. Blom, Marc M. Bohlken, Sophie M. Heringa, Jan Dirk Blom, Iris E C Sommer

Schizophrenia April 23, 2022 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00229-9 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 10,448
Population General population aged 14-88 years
Topics Philosophy of mind
Keywords Visual hallucination Phenomenology philosophy Population Distress Auditory hallucination Psychosis Schizotypy Modalities Clinical psychology
Citations 55
Key findings Auditory hallucinations were the most common sensory modality (29.5%), and nearly half of participants reported hallucinations in two or more modalities, with substantial proportions experiencing severe negative content, distress, and dysfunction.

Abstract

Although epidemiological studies report that hallucinations occur in 6-15% of the general population, little is known about their phenomenology. To overcome this paucity, this study investigates the phenomenological characteristics of hallucinations in the general population, by using a nationally promoted online survey to assess hallucination phenomenology in four sensory modalities, through a self-report version of the Questionnaire for Psychotic Experiences (QPE), in 10,448 participants (aged 14-88 years). The phenomenology of hallucinations was assessed if hallucinations reportedly occurred in the past month. In the past month, auditory hallucinations were reported most frequently (29.5%), followed by visual (21.5%), tactile (19.9%), and olfactory hallucinations (17.3%); hallucinations in two or more modalities were reported by 47.6%. Substantial numbers of participants rated their hallucinations as severe, due to negative content (16.0-31.6%), previous bothersome experiences (14.8-20.2%), ensuing distress (10.5-16.8%), and/or ensuing disfunctioning (12.7-17.3%). Decreased insight was found in 10.2-11.4%. Hypnagogia was reported by 9.0-10.6%, and bereavement hallucinations by 2.8%. Despite a low prevalence of delusions (7.0%), these phenomena were significantly associated with recent hallucinations, observed in up to 13.4% of the participants with hallucinations during the past week (p < 0.001). Our results indicate a wide variety of the phenomenology of hallucinations in the general population and support the existence of a phenomenological continuum.

Comparable studies

Other cross-sectional and survey studies on philosophy of mind, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Survey of entity encounter experiences occasioned by inhaled N,N-dimethyltryptamine: Phenomenology, interpretation, and enduring effects. People who had a memorable entity encounter after taking N,N-dimethyltryptamine 2020 Survey n = 2,561
Future directions in meditation research: Recommendations for expanding the field of contemplative science Meditators 2018 Cross-sectional online survey n = 1,120
The Phenomenology of Lucid Dreaming: An Online Survey Respondents to an online survey about lucid dreams 2014 Online survey n = 684
The neurophenomenology of early psychosis: An integrative empirical study. Ultra-high risk for psychosis patients, first episode psychosis patients, and healthy... 2019 Cross-sectional n = 123
Spontaneous Spiritual Awakenings: Phenomenology, Altered States, Individual Differences, and Well-Being People reporting their most powerful Spontaneous Spiritual or Kundalini Awakening 2021 Mixed within and between-participants self-report survey design n = 152

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