The relationship between dysphoria and proneness to hallucination and delusions among young adults

Previous research suggests that measures of dysphoria relate to positive schizophrenic symptoms. These relationships have rarely been studied within the dimensionality of psychopathology framework. The present study examined the relationship between 3 distinct aspects of dysphoria (depression and state and trait anxiety) and delusion and hallucination proneness in a nonclinical sample of young adults. A total of 472 participants were assessed on measures of dysphoria and delusion and hallucination proneness. Correlation analyses revealed significant associations between both anxiety and depression and hallucination and delusion proneness, suggesting that the association between dysphoria and positive symptoms is also present at a nonclinical level. Partial correlations, and hierarchical regression models, suggest an independent contribution of depression, over anxiety, in influencing hallucination and delusional proneness. The results are discussed in the framework of the cognitive account of schizophrenia and the dimensional model of psychopathology.