Dissociative experiences in hypothetically psychosis-prone college students

The relationship between dissociative experiences and psychosis proneness w as investigated in a sample of 523 college undergraduates. Participants wer e administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), the Perceptual Abe rration Scale, the Magical Ideation Scale, the Social Anhedonia Scale, and the Physical Anhedonia Scale. As hypothesized, the Perceptual Aberration an d Magical Ideation Scales were positively correlated with the DES. The Soci al Anhedonia Scale had a modest correlation with the DES, but this relation ship was largely mediated by the Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation Scales. The Physical Anhedonia Scale was uncorrelated with the DES. Explor atory factor analysis of the psychosis-proneness scales and the DES subscal es resulted in a three-factor solution: dissociative experiences, positive schizotypy, and negative schizotypy. The DES depersonalization subscale loa ded on both the dissociation and positive schizotypy factors.