Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: The notion that bad things happen that can drive us crazy has been with us for centuries.The first meta-analysis of research on the topic did not appear, however, until 2012. 1 It involved the 41 most robust studies at the time, including 18 comparisons of psychotic patients with nonpsychiatric controls, 10 prospective studies, and 8 general population surveys.People who had suffered one or more childhood adversities were 2.8 times more likely to develop psychosis (P < .001).The odds ratios for six specific adversities were: sexual abuse, 2.4; physical abuse, 2.9; emotional abuse, 3.4; neglect, 2.9; bullying, 2.4; parental death, 1.7.Dose response was seen in 9 of the 10 studies that tested for it.For example, a survey of 8580 people found that those subjected to one form of adversity were 1.7 times more likely to have a diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, compared with 18 times more likely for three adversities, and 193 times for five. 2 The biological, social, and psychological mediators of the relationship have been explored.3,4 The content of hallucinations and delusions is often related, directly or metaphorically, to childhood traumas (Table 1).[5][6][7][8] The range of childhood adversities that have been found to play a causal role, often in combination, includes sexual abuse, incest, physical abuse, neglect, poverty, loss (eg, of parents), bullying, and being fostered/adopted.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]9,10 Relationships between specific traumas or adversities and specific psychosis symptoms have been investigated.10,11 The Traumagenic Neurodevelopmental Model of psychosis maps the similarities between the brains of traumatized children and adults diagnosed with schizophrenia. 4
Authors: John Read, Tony Morrison, Rachel Waddingham
Language: English
Topic: Child Abuse and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3044197278