Trauma in childhood linked to psychotic experiences?
| Updated: Nov 26, 2018, 13:14 IST
The University of Bristol has published a study in JAMA Psychiatry and states that researchers have now found a link between trauma in childhood and psychotic experiences at the age of 18. The findings of this study are the first to examine the association between different types of trauma and their timing in childhood with later psychotic experiences.
After conducting the study using a large population, the study concluded by stating that 25-60% of the young people who reported psychotic experiences would not have developed these if they had not been exposed to trauma such as bullying, domestic violence or emotional neglect as a child. These results were consistent regardless of socio-economic status or genetic risk of mental health difficulties. PhD student at the Centre for Academic Mental Health, Jazz Croft said, "As around 5% of the population have psychotic experiences at some point in their life, and these often lead to further mental health issues, it is important that we understand more about the role trauma has in increasing this risk." “I wanted to look at traumatic experiences during childhood using children of the 90s data because it allowed us to answer questions about the timing and type of trauma that previous studies have not been able to examine comprehensively,” Croft added. “The findings support that routine screening for psychotic experiences in children or young people exposed to trauma, particularly those exposed to frequent occurrences, should be considered as a way of preventing later mental health problems. Understanding how trauma leads to psychotic experiences could lead to the development of more novel treatments for psychosis," Croft concluded.
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol and Cardiff University and co-author on the research Stanley Zammit added, "This work helps to establish the importance of trauma in the aetiology of psychotic experiences, and can help inform the clinical approach to reducing the impact of these often very distressing symptoms."
After conducting the study using a large population, the study concluded by stating that 25-60% of the young people who reported psychotic experiences would not have developed these if they had not been exposed to trauma such as bullying, domestic violence or emotional neglect as a child. These results were consistent regardless of socio-economic status or genetic risk of mental health difficulties. PhD student at the Centre for Academic Mental Health, Jazz Croft said, "As around 5% of the population have psychotic experiences at some point in their life, and these often lead to further mental health issues, it is important that we understand more about the role trauma has in increasing this risk." “I wanted to look at traumatic experiences during childhood using children of the 90s data because it allowed us to answer questions about the timing and type of trauma that previous studies have not been able to examine comprehensively,” Croft added. “The findings support that routine screening for psychotic experiences in children or young people exposed to trauma, particularly those exposed to frequent occurrences, should be considered as a way of preventing later mental health problems. Understanding how trauma leads to psychotic experiences could lead to the development of more novel treatments for psychosis," Croft concluded.
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Bristol and Cardiff University and co-author on the research Stanley Zammit added, "This work helps to establish the importance of trauma in the aetiology of psychotic experiences, and can help inform the clinical approach to reducing the impact of these often very distressing symptoms."