IEPA 11

Andrew Chanen1,2,3, Marialuisa Cavelti1,2,4,5, Carol Hulbert4, Shona Francey1,2, Jennifer Betts1,2, Katherine Thompson1,2; 1Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, 2Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, 3Orygen Youth Health, 4School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, 5Translational Research Centre, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
               
Auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) occur in up to 50% of adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD). AVH in BPD are phenomenologically similar to voices in schizophrenia, but are more emotionally distressing, evoke greater emotional resistance, and are a risk factor for suicide and hospitalisation. The cognitive model of AVH predicts that voice-related distress (i.e., depressed mood and anxiety) arises from the negative appraisal of voices (e.g., power and supremacy) and that this appraisal mirrors the voice hearer’s interpersonal relationships. This model has never been studied early in the course of BPD, the same period of life when schizophrenia spectrum disorders usually emerge. This study examined, for the first time, appraisals of voices, interpersonal schema and voice-related distress among youth with BPD and AVH in comparison to youth with first episode psychosis (FEP) and AVH. Sixty-seven outpatients, aged 15-25 years, were recruited from Orygen Youth Health in Melbourne, Australia. Following assessment for mental state and personality disorder, they were grouped into ‘BPD+AVH’, ‘FEP+AVH without BPD’, and ‘BPD without AVH’. Data analysis is currently underway, comparing these groups in terms of appraisals of voices, interpersonal schema, and anxiety and depressive symptoms. Further, the associations between appraisals of voices, interpersonal schema, and anxiety and depressive symptoms will be examined and discussed in the context of the extant models of voice-related distress. The findings will improve understanding of the nature of AVH in youth with BPD and provide potential targets for psychological interventions to reduce voice-related distress.