Sesgo atribucional en pacientes psiquiátricos, religiosos y un grupo control en el juicio de la experiencia alucinatoria: la tarea del White Christmas test / Attributional Biases in Psychiatric Patients, a Religious, and a Control Group in the Assessment of a Hallucinatory Experience: The "White Christmas Test"

RESUMEN El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la experiencia alucinatoria auditiva en una muestra clínica de pacientes con historial psiquiátrico (p. ej., esquizofrénicos), practicantes religiosos (p. ej., cristianos evangélicos devotos) y un grupo control (sin trastorno mental y no religiosos devotos). La muestra estuvo integrada por individuos de ambos sexos. La muestra de pacientes se reclutó en 2 hospitales psiquiátricos de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, un grupo de practicantes religiosos (cristianos devotos) en un culto evangélico y un grupo de control no religioso y carente de síntomas psiquiátricos previos. Se aplicó el Cuestionario de Experiencias Alucinatorias y el Oxford-Liverpool Inventory Feelings and Experiences, y luego se administró el White Christmas Test, que evalúa el grado de la imaginería auditiva vívida con base en una versión del paradigma de detección de serial, en que el sujeto cree escuchar un tema musical en el trasfondo de un ruido blanco. Los pacientes mostraron mayor sesgo atribucional que los evangélicos y el grupo control, pero además los religiosos también tendieron a mostrar mayor sesgo (aunque en menor grado) que el grupo control. Además, los pacientes tendieron a mostrar más esquizotipia y experiencias alucinatorias que los evangélicos y el grupo control, pero sorprendentemente el grupo control mostró mayor esquizotipia negativa que el grupo religioso, lo cual indica que las prácticas religiosas podrían contribuir a disminuir los efectos negativos de la esquizotipia.

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the auditory hallucinatory experience in a clinical sample of patients with psychiatric symptoms (e.g. Schizophrenia), a religious group (eg. Christians) and a "control" group (with no mental disorder and non-religious). The sample consisted of individuals of both sexes. The patient sample was recruited in two psychiatric hospitals of Buenos Aires City, the religious from an evangelical cult, and people with no religious beliefs or previous psychiatric symptoms (control group). The Hallucinatory Experiences Questionnaire and the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory Feelings and Experiences were the measurement tools used. The White Christmas Test was also administered in order to assess the degree of vivid imagery hearing based on a version of signal detection paradigm in which the subjects think that they hear a song in the background of white noise. The results showed that patients showed greater attributional bias (compared with evangelicals and the control group), but the religious group also tended to show greater bias (although less) than the control group. In addition, patients tended to show greater schizotypal and hallucinatory experiences compared with the evangelicals and the control group, but surprisingly, the control group showed higher negative schizotypy than the religious group, which indicates that religious practices could help reduce the negative effects of schizotypy.

Attributional Biases in Psychiatric Patients, a Religious, and a Control Group in the Assessment of a Hallucinatory Experience: The "White Christmas Test". / Sesgo atribucional en pacientes psiquiátricos, religiosos y un grupo control en el juicio de la experiencia alucinatoria: la tarea del White Christmas test.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the auditory hallucinatory experience in a clinical sample of patients with psychiatric symptoms (e.g. Schizophrenia), a religious group (eg. Christians) and a "control" group (with no mental disorder and non-religious). The sample consisted of individuals of both sexes. The patient sample was recruited in two psychiatric hospitals of Buenos Aires City, the religious from an evangelical cult, and people with no religious beliefs or previous psychiatric symptoms (control group). The Hallucinatory Experiences Questionnaire and the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory Feelings and Experiences were the measurement tools used. The White Christmas Test was also administered in order to assess the degree of vivid imagery hearing based on a version of signal detection paradigm in which the subjects think that they hear a song in the background of white noise. The results showed that patients showed greater attributional bias (compared with evangelicals and the control group), but the religious group also tended to show greater bias (although less) than the control group. In addition, patients tended to show greater schizotypal and hallucinatory experiences compared with the evangelicals and the control group, but surprisingly, the control group showed higher negative schizotypy than the religious group, which indicates that religious practices could help reduce the negative effects of schizotypy.