No abstract

Minority groups have been found to be at higher risk of developing psychotic symptoms, but the underlying mechanism is yet to be established. This study aims to determine the mechanism that underlies the relationship between minority status and psychotic symptoms, investigating the role of perceived discrimination as a mediator. We assessed 387 participants from a community sample in Indonesia using the Community Assessment of Psychotic Experiences for psychotic symptoms, surveys adapted from the NEMESIS study for minority status and perceived discrimination, and controlled for depression with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Mediation analysis was conducted, which showed that perceived discrimination fully mediated the relationship between minority status and positive psychotic symptoms, but not negative psychotic symptoms. This finding supports the social defeat hypothesis, which states that social stressors lead to positive psychotic symptoms due to dopamine dysregulation. However, further research is required to illustrate the association between social stressors and negative symptoms.

While many known risk factors and mechanisms for psychosis exist, the time it takes for these risk factors and mechanisms to influence psychosis remains unclear. Furthermore, the average duration of a psychotic symptom has not been estimated. The aim of the study is to discover the average duration of an episode of psychotic symptoms and other mental disorders, as well as the average duration by which psychological mechanisms of risk factors and psychotic symptoms or other mental disorders operate. This study is an online longitudinal survey with various time-interval assessments (baseline, 7 daily, 4 weekly, 4 fortnightly, and 6 monthly assessments). A community sample of Indonesians were recruited via internet and a sample of help-seekers were recruited from clinical practices. From November 2018 to March 2019, we recruited 464 participants who completed the baseline survey from the community. Of the 464 participants, 73% of them are female with ages ranging from 18 - 57 years and 33.2% reported having been diagnosed with at least one mental disorder. The expected results of the surveys provide us with estimates regarding appropriate time-intervals of risk factors and mechanisms of psychosis.