A need for a brief, easy to complete self-report questionnaire to detect people at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) in busy clinical settings has been recognised. Our aim was to explore whether the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences – Positive 15-items Scale (CAPE-P15) could be used as a screening tool to identify people at UHR in a clinical setting. Our objectives were to confirm the CAPE-P15 factorial structure as well as its reliability and determine cut-off values for the detection of such individuals using the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS), a commonly used clinical interview for the detection of UHR. 165 participants aged between 13 and 18 referred to the General Hospital of Vienna were included in the analysis. 50.9% of the sample were “CAARMS-positive” and 49.1% “CAARMS-negative”. The Youden method determined CAPE-P15 cut-off values for UHR detection of 1.47 for both frequency of and distress associated with psychotic experiences. The cut-off value of 1.47 for frequency showed sensitivity of 77%, specificity of 58%, a positive predictive value of 66% and a negative predictive value of 71%; whilst for distress it showed sensitivity of 73%, specificity of 63%, a positive predictive value of 69% and a negative predictive value of 66%. Good reliability and the previously suggested three-correlated factor model as well as an alternative bi-factor model of the CAPE-P15 were confirmed. The CAPE-P15 seems to be a promising screening tool for identifying people who might be at UHR in busy clinical settings.This study was supported by grant 03T-315 from the Stanley Medical Research Institute and the NIHR programme grant RP-PG-0606-1335 “Understanding Causes and Developing Effective Interventions for Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses”
