SUBCLINICAL HALLUCINATIONS AND DELUSIONS IN NONPSYCHOTIC ADOLESCENTS

A number of studies have suggested that clinical populations of adoles cents may report hallucinations and/or delusions without meeting crite ria for a psychotic disorder. The purpose of this study was to provide information about the prevalence and symptom correlates of these subc linical hallucinations and delusions that occur in a nonpsychotic popu lation of adolescents. Thirty-eight adolescents from a residential pro gram and day treatment center were assessed with respect to hallucinat ory experiences, ideas of reference, paranoid ideation, dissociative e xperiences, depressive symptomatology, and schizotypal cognitions. Res ults of this study indicated that 33 % of the participants reported ha ving experienced auditory hallucinations, and 24% reported having had delusional ideas. In addition, the results suggest that subclinical au ditory hallucinations may have an especially strong relation with diss ociative processes, whereas subclinical delusions appeared to be most strongly correlated with schizotypal thought processes. The results of this study begin to clarify the phenomenon of hallucinatory and delus ional experiences in a nonpsychotic population.