Childhood Trauma as a Risk Factor for Psychosis

How adverse childhood events affect risk for later psychosis remains unclear. Analyzing data from 4433 children and their mothers participating in a large, longitudinal, prospective study, investigators in the U.K. examined children's psychotic experiences (hallucinations, delusions, and thought interference) at ages 12 and 18 and various kinds of trauma exposures at different ages.

Among the 410 offspring who endorsed psychotic symptoms at age 18, 84% reported past traumatic experiences, compared with 63% of those without psychosis. In analyses adjusting for sex, family history, parental drug use, and other relevant factors, the likelihood of psychosis was almost three times higher in those with histories of childhood trauma. Psychosis risk…