Childhood negative experiences and subclinical psychosis in adolescence: a longitudinal general population study

Abstract

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests that experiences of trauma and victimization during childhood are associated with an increased risk to develop clinical and subclinical psychosis in adulthood. A recent cross-sectional study showed a significant association between trauma and psychotic experiences in adolescents. The current study aimed to extend these findings by investigating the longitudinal effects of negative life experiences on the risk for subclinical psychotic symptoms 2 years later in an adolescent general community sample.

Sexual Trauma Increases the Risk of Developing Psychosis in an Ultra High-Risk “Prodromal” Population

“…Given that the development of a psychotic disorder is a relatively rare event, cohort studies have often focused on psychotic symptoms and not on disorder. [12][13][14] When studies have investigated psychotic disorder as an outcome, the number of available cases has been low and the measures used to diagnose psychosis relatively broad. 8,10 The measures of trauma used in these studies have also been relatively crude in the context of large epidemiological studies.…”

14:15 Persistence of the Extended Psychosis Phenotype in Young People: Link Between Vulnerability and Clinical Need

“…The experience of trauma, one of the most extensively studied risk factors in relation to psychosis (Read et al, 2005), has been associated with later diagnosis of schizophrenia (or other psychotic disorder) (Cutajar et al, 2010;Fisher et al, 2006;Lardinois, et al, 2010) as well as with subclinical psychotic experiences (Arseneault et al, 2011;Lataster et al, 2006;de Loore et al, 2007). The current thesis showed that trauma also is associated with persistence of subclinical psychotic experiences in both adolescents and young adults.…”

“…Furthermore, associations were usually stronger with increasing frequency and severity of the trauma experienced (Arseneault et al, 2011;de Loore et al, 2007;Lataster et al, 2006;Read et al, 2005) and when there was an intention to harm (Arseneault et al, 2011).…”

“…One of the most extensively studied environmental factors in this context is developmental trauma (Read et al, 2005). Early trauma has been associated with a later diagnosis of schizophrenia (or other psychotic disorder) (Cutajar et al, 2010;Lardinois et al, 2011;Fisher et al, 2006) as well as with subthreshold psychotic experiences (Arseneault et al, 2011;Lataster et al, 2006;de Loore et al, 2007;Schreier et al, 2009). Early trauma has also been associated with developmental dynamic patterns, particularly in terms of abnormal persistence, of psychotic experiences over time (Spauwen et al, 2006;Cougnard et al, 2007;Wigman et al, 2011c and2011d).…”

The relationship of schools to emotional health and bullying

“…According to the World Health Organization 2 , at any point in time, there are an estimated 450 million people in the world who are afflicted by some sort of mental, neurological, or behavioural problem. These problems often begin in adolescence and persist through to adulthood 3-5 . Similarly, strong connections between emotional health and bullying (whether as a victim or as a bully) have been found across several countries [6][7][8][9][10] . Early adolescence is a particularly vulnerable time for the onset of mental health problems and the occurrence of bullying 11 .…”