Validation of the Hebrew version of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences in a sample of Israeli Hebrew speakers

Introduction: The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42) is a reliable tool to assess psychotic experiences (PEs) in clinical and non-clinical populations, in research and clinical settings. Methods: To investigate cultural differences in PEs and control for pathological behavior in non-clinical groups, we developed a Hebrew version of the CAPE-42 using the translation/back-translation method. A total of 359 Hebrew speaking Israelis participated in an online study comprising the CAPE-42, the Autistic Quotient (AQ), the Center for Epidemiological Study – Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Prodromal Questionnaire – Brief Version (PQ-B). We examined the psychometric properties of the Hebrew CAPE-42—including its factor structure, internal consistency, gender invariance, and validity. We also investigated the independent and interaction effects of psychotic and autistic traits on depressive symptoms. Results: Reliability analysis demonstrated very good internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis supported the eight-factor model, which included depressive, social withdrawal, affective flattening, avolition, bizarre experiences, perceptual abnormalities, persecutory ideation, and magical thinking. Demonstrating its predictive and convergent validity, we found significant correlations with the CES-D and the PQ-B. The predictive model showed that both psychotic and autistic traits are independent, non-interacting, predictors of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: The Hebrew CAPE-42 offers a valuable instrument for investigating PEs in the Hebrew-speaking population and facilitates cross-cultural studies.