The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences: Optimal cut‐off scores for detecting individuals with a psychotic disorder

• Published in: International journal of methods in psychiatric research Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. e1893 - n/a
• Main Authors: Jaya, Edo S., Amelsvoort, Therese, Bartels‐Velthuis, Agna A., Bruggeman, Richard, Cahn, Wiepke, Haan, Lieuwe, Kahn, Rene S., Os, Jim, Schirmbeck, Frederike, Simons, Claudia J. P., Lincoln, Tania M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.12.2021; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Case-Control Studies; early detection; Humans; Original; Psychiatrists; Psychosis; Psychotic Disorders - diagnosis; psychotic experiences; psychotic symptoms; Quantitative psychology; Risk Factors; ROC; schizophrenia; Self Report; Social research; Netherlands; psychotic experiences; psychotic symptoms; early detection; schizophrenia; ROC
• ISSN: 1049-8931; 1557-0657; 1557-0657
• DOI: 10.1002/mpr.1893

Objectives The need for a brief screening tool for psychosis is widely recognized. The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) is a popular self‐report measure of psychosis, but a cut‐off score that can detect those most likely to fulfill diagnostic criteria for psychotic disorder is not established. Methods A case–control sample from the Genetic Risk and Outcome of Psychosis Project study (N = 1375, healthy individuals, n = 507, and individuals with a psychotic disorder, n = 868), was used to examine cut‐off scores of the CAPE with receiver operating curve analyses. We examined 27 possible cut‐off scores computed from a combination of scores from the frequency and distress scales of the various factors of the CAPE. Results The weighted severity positive symptom dimension was most optimal in detecting individuals with a psychotic disorder (>1.75 cut‐off; area under the curve = 0.88; sensitivity, 75%; specificity, 88%), which correctly identified 80% of the sample as cases or controls with a diagnostic odds ratio of 22.69. Conclusions The CAPE can be used as a first screening tool to detect individuals who are likely to fulfill criteria for a psychotic disorder. The >1.75 cut‐off of the weighted severity positive symptom dimension provides a better prediction than all alternatives tested so far.