Out-of-body experiences in schizophrenia. A questionnaire survey.
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease October 1, 1986 DOI: 10.1097/00005053-198610000-00006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Case-control questionnaire study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 111 |
| Population | 71 volunteers with a history of schizophrenia and 40 control subjects (patients in a hospital accident ward) |
| Key findings | Although 42% of people with schizophrenia versus 13% of controls endorsed a general question about out-of-body experiences, only 14% of the schizophrenia group, matching the control rate, reported "typical" OBEs with a change of viewpoint. Those reporting typical OBEs showed no more perceptual distortions or schizophrenia symptoms than those reporting none. The authors conclude there is no evidence that the typical OBE is pathological or symptomatic of schizophrenia. |
Abstract
Questionnaires on perceptual distortions, symptoms of schizophrenia, and out-of-body experiences (OBEs) were completed by 71 volunteers with a history of schizophrenia and 40 control subjects (patients in a hospital accident ward). Significantly more of the schizophrenics (42%) than of the control group (13%) answered "yes" to a question about OBEs. However, a follow-up questionnaire showed that only 14% of schizophrenics (i.e., the same as the control group) had had "typical" OBEs, in which a change of viewpoint was reported. Those reporting typical OBEs did not report more perceptual distortions or symptoms of schizophrenia than did those reporting no OBEs, although those reporting other atypical experiences did. On this basis there is no evidence to consider the typical OBE as pathological or as symptomatic of schizophrenia.
Citations in the library
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- Out-of-Body Experiences and Related Phenomena in Migraine Art Cephalalgia December 1, 1999
- Out-of-body experiences: All in the brain? Journal of Near-Death Studies 2006
- Bodily self-disturbance in schizophrenia-spectrum populations: Introducing the Benson et al. Body Disturbances Inventory (B-BODI). PsyCh Journal March 1, 2019
- Research on Experiences Related to the Possibility of Consciousness Beyond the Brain: A Bibliometric Analysis of Global Scientific Output. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 2017
- Deliberate and spontaneous sensations of disembodiment: capacity or flaw? Cognitive Neuropsychiatry August 10, 2016
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