Relationship between clinical symptoms, experiential avoidance and predisposition to hallucinations

Abstract

This article studies the relevance of several clinical symptoms to the hallucinatory experience, considering the role that experiential avoidance may play in this process. The results show that the predisposition to hallucinations is associated with several clinical symptoms. Specifically, depression is the most relevant factor in the predisposition to auditory hallucinations. The factors that best predict a predisposition to visual hallucinations are obsessive compulsive and phobic anxiety symptoms. A factor common to both types is experiential avoidance. These results are in line with several studies that show that hallucinations are associated with diverse clinical symptoms and studies that suggest experiential avoidance as a diagnostic dimension common to various psychological disorders. The theoretical and clinical importance of the acceptance of internal events and their orientation toward the values and desires of persons that hear voices are discussed.