The Community Assessment of Psychic Experience (CAPE) questionnaire as a screening-instrument in the detection of individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis.

Recent findings on intervention options in individuals at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis underline the necessity of a screening tool that facilitates early detection in low-threshold, non-specialized settings. The aim of this study was to examine, whether the Community Assessment of Psychic Experience (CAPE) could be used as a screening tool to detect individuals at an increased risk for developing psychosis in a clinical, help-seeking population. The utility of the CAPE was assessed against the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS). The CAPE is a 42-item self-report questionnaire that proved to be stable, reliable and valid for self reported psychotic-like experiences in the general population. 165 individuals between 13 and 24years of age were assessed for being at UHR for developing psychosis. 50.9% individuals were CAARMS-positive and 49.1% were CAARMS-negative. The ROC-analysis provided two cut-off points: The cut-off value of 3.20 in the positive dimension showed a sensitivity of 67%, a specificity of 73%, a positive predictive value of 72% and a negative predictive value of 68%. The cut-off value of 2.80 in the positive dimension showed a higher sensitivity (83%) and a better negative predictive value (74%), but a lower specificity (49%) and a reduced positive predictive value (63%). Our results show promise that the CAPE is a valid, simple and cost-effective instrument for detecting individuals at UHR in a clinical population. It may represent a useful screening tool for calling clinicians' attention to subjects with psychotic-like experiences.