Abstract
Objectives. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Czech version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), which measures the general population rate of experiences related to positive, negative, and depressive symptoms of psychotic disorders.
Methods. In Study 1, the CAPE was translated and administered to 215 participants, alongside with the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-SF).
Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Criterion and convergent validity were examined by correlating CAPE scores with BDI-SF and age.
Confirmatory factor analysis evaluated the internal structure of the instrument. Study 2 recruited 43 participants with a psychotic disorder and 43 participants without a psychiatric anamnesis.
This study explored the questionnaire's clinical validity via the associations between frequency and distress scores. Between-group differences were next analysed and a ROC analysis was conducted.
Results. The instrument reached high internal consistency (α = 0.926).
Significant correlations between depressive scores and BDI-SF (r = 0.750) and between positive scores and age (r = -0.343) were observed. The hypothesized three-factor structure appeared sub-optimal.
The frequency of an experience and the distress caused by it were mostly related. Persons with a psychotic disorder obtained significantly higher overall CAPE scores than persons without it, t(84) = 5.878, p < 0.001.
A cut-off score of 3.3 points on the overall positive scale showed a sensitivity of 74% and a specificity of 77%. Conclusion.
The CAPE registered adequate psychometric qualities and may be recommended for research purposes. The instrument can have some utility in screening when other, more demanding methods of measurement, are unavailable.
Similarly to others, the Czech version of the CAPE will be best used either in full, or reduced to its positive scale.