Childhood Trauma Could Have Caused Psychotic Experiences In Young Adults

Five percent of those who went to a psychiatric clinic at age 18 in the study, might have suffered from trauma from when they were kids, finds a new study.

Nearly five percent of people that were found to visit a psychiatric clinic from where they were 18 could have been saved, if they did not undergo childhood trauma, finds a new study. The findings of this study are published I the journal of JAMA Psychiatry.

Researchers at the University of Bristol have established greater evidence for a causal link between trauma in childhood and psychotic experiences at 18 years old.

New Tool Can Predict Individual's Risk of Developing Psychotic Disorders
A new risk calculator can predict an individual's risk of developing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, revealed a new study.

‘Routine screening for psychotic experiences in children and young adults exposed to trauma, are needed particularly those who had suffered more frequently. ’

The findings are the first to comprehensively examine the association between different types of trauma, and their timing in childhood with later psychotic experiences using a large population study. Psychotic experiences include abnormal experiences such as hearing voices or feelings of paranoia.

Researchers used Bristol's Children of the 90s longitudinal data to examine 4,433 participants who had clinical interviews and attended clinics at the age of 18. The study concludes that between 25 and 60 percent of the young people who reported psychotic experiences (five percent of the sample) would not have developed these if they had not been exposed to trauma such as bullying, domestic violence or emotional neglect as a child.

The results were consistent regardless of socio-economic status or genetic risk of mental health difficulties, which could inform future research and the development of interventions.

Bullying By Siblings Triples The Risk of Psychotic Disorders
Children who are victims of bullying or who bully are three times at risk of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia in early adulthood.

Ph.D. student in the Centre for Academic Mental Health Jazz Croft said:

"As around five percent 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.

Researchers Identify Key Biological Markers for Classifying Psychotic Disorders
A team of researchers has identified a number of biological markers that make it possible to classify mental disorders with greater precision.

"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."

"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."

Psychotic Disorders Linked To Falling IQ Scores in Childhood
Falling IQ scores in childhood could indicate the risk of psychotic disorders later in adulthood.

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 etiology of psychotic experiences, and can help inform the clinical approach to reducing the impact of these often very distressing symptoms."

Source-Eurekalert