The development and reliability of the Mental Health Research Institute Unusual Perceptions Schedule (MUPS) : an instrument to record auditory hallucinatory experience
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Abstract
The Mental Health Research Institute Unusual Perceptions Schedule (MUPS) is a comprehensive
instrument developed to record subjects' experiences of auditory hallucinations as
completely as possible. The Schedule comprises a semi-structured interview and documents
the physical characteristics of auditory hallucinations such as their onset and course,
number, volume, tone, location, as well as other phenomena associated with them such
as delusions. In addition, other aspects of hallucinations, such as coping strategies,
contributing factors and subjects' personal views and reactions are also explored.
In a sample of 100 subjects drawn primarily from the in-patient wards at Royal Park
Hospital the MUPS was found to be an acceptable instrument to subjects in the field.
Interrater reliability assessed in a subsample of 30 subjects was found to be high
at the level of the individual items. Whether used in whole or part, the MUPS provides
a reliable and acceptable method of assessing patients' experience of auditory hallucinations.