TY - JOUR

T1 - Are Self-disorders in Schizophrenia Expressive of a Unifying Disturbance of Subjectivity

T2 - A Factor Analytic Approach

AU - Nordgaard, Julie

AU - Berge, Jonas

AU - Rasmussen, Andreas Rosen

AU - Sandsten, Karl Erik

AU - Zandersen, Maja

AU - Parnas, Josef

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Background and Hypothesis The idea that a disorder of the basic self is a central feature in schizophrenia has recently been corroborated in a meta-analysis and a systematic review. Manifestations of the self-disorder can be systematically explored with the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE). In this study, we examined the factorial structure of EASE, and diagnostic efficacy of EASE. We hypothesized that EASE will have a monofactorial structure as an instability of the basic self will result in multiple deformations of self-experience which would be meaningfully interrelated as aspects of a unifying Gestalt. Design EASE data for 226 patients suffering from various mental disorders were analyzed under a confirmatory factor analysis framework (CFA). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated for the total EASE sums, and sensitivity and specificity values for prediction of schizophrenia spectrum disorders based on different cut-offs were obtained. Results Fit indices for the CFA model: RMSEA = 0.036, SRMR = 0.100, CFI = 0.983, TLI = 0.981. The AUC value was 0.946 (95% confidence interval: 0.919-0.974). Sensitivity as well as specificity for schizophrenia spectrum disorders were high. Conclusion Our results lend support for EASE exhibiting a monofactorial structure and the notion of self-disorders as a central phenotypic feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

AB - Background and Hypothesis The idea that a disorder of the basic self is a central feature in schizophrenia has recently been corroborated in a meta-analysis and a systematic review. Manifestations of the self-disorder can be systematically explored with the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE). In this study, we examined the factorial structure of EASE, and diagnostic efficacy of EASE. We hypothesized that EASE will have a monofactorial structure as an instability of the basic self will result in multiple deformations of self-experience which would be meaningfully interrelated as aspects of a unifying Gestalt. Design EASE data for 226 patients suffering from various mental disorders were analyzed under a confirmatory factor analysis framework (CFA). Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated for the total EASE sums, and sensitivity and specificity values for prediction of schizophrenia spectrum disorders based on different cut-offs were obtained. Results Fit indices for the CFA model: RMSEA = 0.036, SRMR = 0.100, CFI = 0.983, TLI = 0.981. The AUC value was 0.946 (95% confidence interval: 0.919-0.974). Sensitivity as well as specificity for schizophrenia spectrum disorders were high. Conclusion Our results lend support for EASE exhibiting a monofactorial structure and the notion of self-disorders as a central phenotypic feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

KW - self-disorders

KW - selfhood

KW - basic self

KW - sensitivity

KW - specificity

KW - cut-off

KW - schizophrenia

KW - monofactorial

KW - PSYCHIATRIC INTERVIEW

KW - EXPERIENCE

U2 - 10.1093/schbul/sbac123

DO - 10.1093/schbul/sbac123

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 36073251

VL - 49

SP - 144

EP - 150

JO - Schizophrenia Bulletin

JF - Schizophrenia Bulletin

SN - 0586-7614

IS - 1

ER -