Social disconnection and psychotic-like experiences in the Slovak DISCONNECT epidemiological study

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) lie on a continuum of psychosis risk and are relatively common in the general population. PLE are associated with social disconnection, which involves social isolation (objective lack of social contact), loneliness (subjective dissatisfaction with relationships), and social exclusion (perceived social rejection). The current study examined the frequency of PLEs and the relative contributions of these facets in a nationally structured adult sample. Data were drawn from the DISCONNECT study, a population-based study using face-to-face interviews in the Slovak Republic (N = 3006), demographically representative of the general adult population. PLEs were assessed using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, alongside measures of depression, loneliness, social isolation, trauma exposure, and social exclusion. PLEs were relatively common in our sample. At the bivariate level, all forms of social disconnection were associated with PLE frequency. In the multivariate model, higher PLE frequency was mainly associated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.364, p < 0.001), social exclusion (β = 0.217, p < 0.001), and loneliness (β = 0.101, p < 0.001). Social disconnection is associated with PLEs in our sample, with social exclusion showing the strongest link, supporting the social defeat hypothesis.