Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

A social factor that has gained recent attention in understanding psychosis is trauma. In the current study the association of a history of trauma with persecutory ideation and verbal hallucinations was tested in the general public. Further, putative mediation variables including anxiety, depression and illicit drug use were examined. In a cross-sectional study, 200 members of the UK general public completed self-report questionnaires. A history of trauma was significantly associated with both persecutory ideation and hallucinations. Severe childhood sexual abuse and non-victimization events were particularly associated with psychotic-like experiences. The association of trauma and paranoia was explained by levels of anxiety. The association of trauma and hallucinations was not explained by the mediational variables. The study indicates that trauma may impact non-specifically on delusions via affect but that adverse events may work via a different route in the occurrence of hallucinatory experience. These ideas require tests in longitudinal designs.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2008.07.009

Type

Journal article

Journal

Psychiatry Res

Publication Date

30/09/2009

Volume

169

Pages

107 - 112

Keywords

Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Anxiety, Chi-Square Distribution, England, Female, Hallucinations, Humans, Intelligence, Male, Middle Aged, Paranoid Disorders, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychotic Disorders, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Severity of Illness Index, Social Environment, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Young Adult