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How much stress is needed to increase vulnerability to psychosis? A community assessment of psychic experiences (CAPE) evaluation 10 months after an earthquake in L’Aquila (Italy)

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Abstract

Since severe stress can induce mental disorder symptoms that interact with vulnerability factors, the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) was evaluated in a population of 419 young adults who survived an earthquake; results were compared to a database of 1,057 ‘non-exposed’ subjects. Unexpectedly, earthquake survivors showed lower CAPE scores for ‘small’ to ‘medium’ effect size. Post-trauma positive changes or re-appraisal for successful adaptation may explain these findings.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict on interest. No funding has been received for this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Experimental Medicine—Section of Psychiatry, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Alessandro Rossi, Silvia di Tommaso, Ilaria Riccardi & Enrico Daneluzzo

  2. Department of Mental Health, ASL of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy

    Paolo Stratta

Authors
  1. Alessandro Rossi
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  2. Silvia di Tommaso
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  3. Paolo Stratta
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  4. Ilaria Riccardi
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  5. Enrico Daneluzzo
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Correspondence to Alessandro Rossi.

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Rossi, A., di Tommaso, S., Stratta, P. et al. How much stress is needed to increase vulnerability to psychosis? A community assessment of psychic experiences (CAPE) evaluation 10 months after an earthquake in L’Aquila (Italy). Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 262, 265–268 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-011-0258-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-011-0258-7

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