Psychotic-like experiences in a community sample of adolescents: implications for the continuum model of psychosis and prediction of schizophrenia

Studies conducted in community samples suggest that psychotic-like experiences are common in the general population, leading to suggestions that they are either variations of normal personality or are different expressions of underlying vulnerability to psychotic disorder. Different types of psychotic symptoms may exist, some being normal variants and some having implications for mental health and functioning. The aim of the present study was to determine if different subtypes of psychotic-like experiences could be identified in a community sample of adolescents and to investigate if particular subtypes were more likely to be associated with psychosocial difficulties, that is, distress, depression and poor functioning, than other subtypes. Eight hundred and seventy-five Year 10 students from 34 schools participated in a cross-sectional survey that measured psychotic-like experiences using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences; depression using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; and psychosocial functioning using the Revised Multidimensional Assessment of Functioning Scale. Factor analysis was conducted to identify any subtypes of psychotic experiences. Four subtypes of psychotic-like experiences were identified: Bizarre Experiences, Perceptual Abnormalities, Persecutory Ideas, and Magical Thinking. Intermittent, infrequent psychotic experiences were common, but frequent experiences were not. Bizarre Experiences, Perceptual Abnormalities and Persecutory Ideas were strongly associated with distress, depression and poor functioning. Magical Thinking was only weakly associated with these variables. Overall these findings may suggest that infrequent psychotic-like experiences are unlikely to be a specific risk factor for onset of a psychotic disorder in community samples. Given that the different subtypes had varying associations with current difficulties it is suggested that not all subtypes confer the same risk for onset of psychotic disorder and poor outcome. Bizarre Experiences, Perceptual Abnormalities and Persecutory Ideas may represent expressions of underlying vulnerability to psychotic disorder, but Magical Thinking may be a normal personality variant.

The relationship between personality traits and psychotic like experiences in a large non-clinical adolescent sample

Objective: The relationship between personality and psychosis is well established. It has been suggested that this relationship may be partly accounted for by higher levels of depression in individuals with certain personality traits. We explored whether the link between personality and psychotic symptoms is already apparent in adolescence, and if this association would still hold when depression was controlled for. Method: 654 secondary school students were surveyed via self-report questionnaires measuring the Five-Factor model of personality (NEO-FFI), depression (CES-D) and psychotic-like experiences (CAPE). Results: Positive associations were found between Neuroticism and all CAPE-subscales except Magical Thinking, which was in turn associated with all other personality traits when at high levels. Agreeableness was negatively associated with all CAPE-subscales, while Openness to Experience was only positively associated with Persecutory Ideas and Magical Thinking. After controlling for depression, many of the significant associations remained. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the chance of having psychotic like experiences is more likely for adolescents with certain personality traits. These associations are not fully explained by depression, especially when psychotic experiences are at higher levels. Future research is needed to investigate if these personality traits might put a person at risk for the development of full-blown psychosis.

Thinking globally in environmental education : implications for internationalizing curriculum inquiry

This chapter revises and expands the following paper: Gough, Noel (2002). Thinking/acting locally/globally: Western science and environmental education in a global knowledge economy. International Journal of Science Education, 24(11), 1217-1237. The author hereby acknowledges the prior publication of substantial portions of this chapter by Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Financial accounting reforms in the Australian public sector: an episode in institutional thinking

In recent years in Australia, accounting regulations have been developed that require the adoption of commercial accounting and reporting practices by public-sector organisations, including the recognition of cultural, heritage and scientific collections as assets by non-profit cultural organisations. The regulations inappropriately apply traditional accounting concepts of accountability and performance, notwithstanding that the primary objectives of many of the organisations affected are not financial. This study examines how this was able to occur within the ideas outlined in Douglas’s (1986) How Institutions Think. The study provides evidence to demonstrate that the development; promotion, and defense of the detailed accounting regulations were each constrained by institutional thinking and, as a result, only certain questions were asked and many problems and issues associated with the regulations were not addressed. Thus, it seeks to further our understanding of the nature and limits of change in accounting and the role of institutions in promoting and defending changes to accounting practice.

Strategic thinking versus strategic planning: towards understanding the complementarities

In an environment characterised by flux and uncertainty, a capacity for innovative, divergent strategic thinking rather than conservative, convergent strategic planning is seen as central to creating and sustaining competitive advantage. As the case study of Communications Co. illustrates, scenario planning is one tool that many organisations, committed to redesigning their strategic planning processes, are using with some success. However, scenario planning requires both left- and right-brain thinking styles. The elements of left-brain thinking reflect the planning side of strategy making, while right-brain thinking mirrors the thinking component of strategy making. The relationship between the factors that enable strategic thinking and the level of “emotional intelligence” of business leaders is also considered. The Communications Co. case findings appear to support the view that while strategic thinking capabilities can be nurtured and diffused through an organisation, it will need business leaders with a high degree of emotional intelligence to lead the way.

Thinking/acting locally/globally: western science and environmental education in a global knowledge economy

This paper critically appraises a number of approaches to 'thinking globally' in environmental education, with particular reference to popular assumptions about the universal applicability of Western science. Although the transnational character of many environmental issues demands that we 'think globally', I argue that the contribution of Western science to understanding and resolving environmental problems might be enhanced by seeing it as one among many local knowledge traditions. The production of a 'global knowledge economy' in/for environmental education can then be understood as creating transnational 'spaces' in which local knowledge traditions can be performed together, rather than as creating a 'common market' in which representations of local knowledge must be translated into (or exchanged for) the terms of a universal discourse.