Does Childhood Trauma Contribute to Risk for Psychosis?

Although clinicians typically think of psychotic illnesses as having primarily biological causes, some epidemiological studies suggest an association between childhood trauma and psychosis. These researchers examined childhood trauma (emotional, physical, and general abuse and emotional and physical neglect) in relation to positive and negative psychotic symptoms in 272 patients with nonaffective psychotic illness, and in relation to positive and negative schizotypy dimensions in 258 of their siblings and 227 healthy comparison subjects. Siblings of 86% of patients participated.

Patients with psychosis were more likely to report the highest levels of childhood trauma than comparison subjects (odds ratio, 5.61) or siblings (OR, 2.88). The amo…