medRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Apr 18:2024.04.18.24306017. doi: 10.1101/2024.04.18.24306017.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Adolescent self-reported psychotic experiences are associated with mental illness and could help guide prevention strategies. The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) was developed over 20 years ago. In a rapidly changing society, where new generations of adolescents are growing up in an increasingly digital world, it is crucial to ensure high reliability and validity of the questionnaire.
METHODS: In this observational validation study, we used unique transgenerational questionnaire and health registry data from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort, a population-based pregnancy cohort. Adolescents, aged ∼14 years, responded to the CAPE-16 ( n = 18,835) and fathers to the CAPE-9 questionnaire ( n = 28,793). We investigated the psychometric properties of CAPE-16 through factor analyses, measurement invariance testing across biological sex, response before/during the COVID-19 pandemic, and generations (comparison with fathers), and examined associations with later psychiatric diagnoses.
OUTCOMES: One third (33·4%) of adolescents reported lifetime psychotic experiences. We confirmed a three-factor structure (paranoia, bizarre thoughts, and hallucinations) of CAPE-16, and observed good scale reliability of the distress and frequency subscales (ω = ·86 and ·90). CAPE-16 measured psychotic experiences were invariant to biological sex and pandemic status. CAPE-9 was non-invariant across generations, with items related to understanding of the digital world ( electrical influences ) prone to bias. CAPE-16 sum scores were associated with a subsequent psychiatric diagnosis, particularly psychotic disorders ( frequency: OR = 2·06; 97·5% CI = 1·70-2·46; distress: OR = 1·93; 97·5% CI = 1·63-2·26).
INTERPRETATION: CAPE-16 showed robust psychometric properties across sex and pandemic status, and sum scores were associated with subsequent psychiatric diagnoses, particularly psychotic disorders. These findings suggest that with certain adjustments, CAPE-16 could have value as a screening tool for adolescents in the modern, digital world.
FUNDING: European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme, Research Council of Norway, South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, NIMH, and the KG Jebsen Stiftelsen.
PMID:38699352 | PMC:PMC11064999 | DOI:10.1101/2024.04.18.24306017
