Department of Psychology, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Department of Psychology, the University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, China; Department of Psychology, Bilkent University, Main Campus, Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey; Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK.
Eur Psychiatry. 2017 Oct;46:51-56. doi: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.08.006. Epub 2017 Sep 1.
There is growing evidence of an association between negative social comparisons (NSC) and both psychosis, and psychosis proneness. The majority of the work thus far, however, has focused largely on one type of NSC, namely, social rank. Whilst social rank is clearly an important factor, an individual's perception of belonging is likely also of importance; particularly, when considering individuals from collectivistic cultures such as China, where greater emphasis is placed on fitting into the group. There is also limited research investigating what factors may contribute towards the relationship between NSC and psychosis proneness, and to what extent this relationship may be due to common familial factors. To address these issues, we examined whether (1) Social rank and perceived belonging predict negative, positive and depressive psychotic experiences in a Chinese, adolescent, twin and sibling population, (2) coping styles moderate the impact of these relationships and (3), there is a familial association between NSC and psychosis proneness. Both social rank and perceived belonging were found to predict the negative and depressive dimensions of psychosis. These relationships were moderated by problem-focused coping styles. Interestingly, the association between perception of belonging, and negative psychotic experiences was familial-and stronger in Monozygotic twins-indicating perhaps shared aetiology due to common genes. Our findings highlight NSC as potential vulnerability markers for negative and depressive psychotic experiences, and suggest potentially different aetiological pathways amongst different NSC and different psychotic experiences. On a clinical level, our findings emphasize the need to consider coping styles when treating at-risk individuals.
越来越多的证据表明，消极的社会比较（NSC）与精神病和精神病倾向之间存在关联。然而，到目前为止，大多数工作主要集中在一种 NSC 上，即社会等级。虽然社会等级显然是一个重要因素，但个人的归属感也可能很重要；特别是在考虑来自集体主义文化的个体时，例如中国，个体更注重融入群体。此外，研究调查什么因素可能会影响 NSC 和精神病倾向之间的关系，以及这种关系在多大程度上可能是由于共同的家庭因素。为了解决这些问题，我们研究了（1）社会等级和归属感是否可以预测中国青少年双胞胎和兄弟姐妹群体的消极、积极和抑郁精神病体验，（2）应对方式是否会影响这些关系，以及（3）在 NSC 和精神病倾向之间是否存在家庭关联。社会等级和归属感都可以预测精神病的消极和抑郁维度。应对方式中的问题焦点应对方式会调节这些关系。有趣的是，归属感与消极精神病体验之间的关系是家族性的，并且在同卵双胞胎中更强，这表明由于共同的基因，可能存在共同的病因。我们的研究结果强调了 NSC 作为消极和抑郁精神病体验的潜在脆弱性标志物的作用，并表明不同的 NSC 和不同的精神病体验可能存在不同的病因途径。在临床层面上，我们的研究结果强调了在治疗高危人群时需要考虑应对方式。
