The association of psychotic experiences with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics in cannabis users.

Objective: The term psychotic experiences (PEs) encompass subclinical hallucinatory and delusional experiences. There are limited number of studies on PEs clinical and socio-demographic characteristics. We aimed to investigate the association between PEs and patterns of cannabis use, cognitive functions, schizotypy and childhood traumas. Methods: Participants were recruited from specialized units using the snowball method. All of the participants were regular cannabis users. Participants with PEs and without PEs were compared by looking into socio-demographic and clinical correlates. Significant variables at univariate comparisons were included in binary multivariate logistic regression analysis with PEs as the dependent variable. Results: Forty participants were recruited (20 with PEs, 20 without PEs). Adolescence onset of cannabis use (χ2 = 8.120; p < 0.05), positive schizotypy (t = 3.762; p < 0.01), Trail Making Test A (TMT A) Scores (u = 98.5; p < 0.01) and emotional neglect (u = 128; p = 0.05) were significantly associated with PEs. The binary regression model included a significant contribution of positive schizotypy (OR = 1.16, CI 1.025–1.330) and TMT A Score (OR = 1.22, CI 1.03–1.44). Conclusions: Results showed a novel positive association of PEs with adolescent-onset cannabis use, TMT A Scores, positive schizotypy and emotional neglect. PEs were predicted independently by positive schizotypy and TMT A Scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]