The mental and physical health correlates of psychotic experiences among US college students: Findings from the Healthy Mind Study 2020

Abstract

Background

Psychotic experiences have been framed as a marker of mental and physical health status; however, more research is needed to confirm these associations in university populations.

Methods

We analyzed data from the Healthy Minds Survey (Fall Semester Cohort 2020), which is a non-probability sample of students attending one of 28 universities in the United States, who completed an online survey (September 2020–December 2020). We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the associations between several mental and physical health conditions and psychotic experiences, adjusting for age, gender, sexual orientation race/ethnicity, and international student status.

Results

In terms of mental health, all conditions were associated with greater odds of having lifetime psychotic experiences. Having at least one mental health condition was associated with 2.18 times greater odds of having lifetime psychotic experiences (aOR: 2.18; 95% CI: 1.96–2.42). In terms of physical health, having at least one physical health condition was associated with 1.37 times greater odds of having lifetime psychotic experiences (aOR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.22–1.53), but only four conditions were associated with greater odds of lifetime psychotic experiences, which were: asthma, gastrointestinal disease, HIV/AIDS, and other chronic disease. The counts of mental and physical health conditions were associated with greater odds of lifetime psychotic experiences in a dose-dependent fashion.

Conclusion

Psychotic experiences appear to be an indicator for mental health problems and some physical health problems. More research is needed to determine whether assessing for psychotic experiences broadly can help identify at-risk individuals in university settings who may benefit from targeted preventive interventions.

Keywords:

• Chronic conditions
• health
• mental health
• psychotic experiences

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from Advarra.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.