Self-transcendence as a risk and resilience factor in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis

Abstract

Self-transcendence is a personality feature and psychological resource that involves feelings of connectedness with the universe, all of humanity, and the individual self. While several studies have found positive associations between self-transcendence and positive psychotic symptoms as well as clinical high risk for developing psychosis (CHR) status, they focused solely on the connectedness-with-universe aspect of self-transcendence. The broader self-transcendence literature, which includes connection with humanity and oneself, robustly supports self-transcendence as an indicator of well-being. We operationalized the more holistic self-transcendence construct using two measures novel to the CHR population. CHR participants (n = 42) and healthy controls (n = 44) completed the Adult Self-Transcendence Inventory and participated in narrative life interviews which were coded for self-transcendence. CHR individuals scored lower than healthy controls on indicators of self-transcendence, functioning, and life satisfaction. However, there were no group differences in the relationships between self-transcendence and measures of well-being. Our findings suggest self-transcendence is a healthy personality development process that may be impaired in CHR individuals yet may still function as a psychological resource for this population and therefore point toward new avenues for intervention in CHR and other mental health populations.