Bullying and psychosis: The impact of chronic traumatic stress on psychosis risk in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome - a uniquely vulnerable population (original) (raw)
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Schizophrenia Research, 2013
Background-Despite increasing evidence suggesting that childhood maltreatment is significantly associated with psychosis, the specific role of bullying in the onset of psychotic disorders is still unclear. This study aimed to examine whether bullying was more prevalent amongst individuals presenting to services for the first time with a psychotic disorder than in unaffected community controls. Methods-Data on exposure to bullying, psychotic symptoms, cannabis use and history of conduct disorder were collected cross-sectionally from 222 first-presentation psychosis cases and 215 geographically-matched controls. Bullying victimisation was assessed retrospectively as part of the Brief Life Events schedule. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between exposure to bullying and case-control status, while controlling for potential confounders. Results-Psychosis cases were approximately twice as likely to report bullying victimisation when compared to controls. No significant interactions between bullying and either gender or cannabis use were found. Controls reporting being a victim of bullying were approximately twice as likely to also report at least one psychosis-like symptom. Conclusions-Our results extend previous research by suggesting that bullying victimisation may contribute to vulnerability to develop a psychotic disorder in some individuals.
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2020
Exposure to neurodevelopmental adversity and childhood trauma are both independently associated with psychosis. However, there is little research on the mechanism underlying their relationship with each other. The current study investigated both the independent and joint effects of neurodevelopmental adversity and childhood trauma to better understand the etiology of psychosis. A large population-based cohort (N = 3514) followed from birth was assessed on psychotic experiences (PE) at 24 years. Neurodevelopmental adversity included obstetric complications (birth weight, gestational age, in-utero influenza exposure, resuscitation) and developmental impairment (cognitive and motor impairments). Trauma exposure included caregiver and peer inflicted trauma up to 17 years. Multiple regression models tested their independent and interactive effect on PE, and path analysis estimated the indirect effect of neurodevelopmental adversity on PE via trauma. Neurodevelopmental adversity (OR = 1.32, 95%CI: 1.08-1.62) and trauma (OR = 1.97, 95%CI: 1.65-2.36) independently increased the odds of PE. There was also an indirect relationship between neurodevelopmental adversity and PE via increased exposure to childhood trauma (β = 0.01, 95%CI: 0.004-0.024). In particular, peer bullying mediated the association between developmental impairment to PE (β = 0.02, 95%CI: 0.01-0.03). In conclusion, children with neurodevelopmental adversity, in particular those with developmental impairment, are more likely to be exposed to trauma. This new etiological understanding of psychosis suggests that PE may be partially modifiable through reducing exposure to peer bullying, especially in children with developmental impairment.
Bullying victimisation and risk of psychotic phenomena: analyses of British national survey data
The Lancet Psychiatry, 2015
BACKGROUND Bullying, an aversive experience with both short and long term consequences, is currently incorporated in bio-psychosocial models of psychosis. We used British national survey data to test the hypothesis that bullying is associated with individual psychotic phenomena and with psychosis, and predicts the later emergence of paranoia ideation and hallucinations. METHODS Data from the 2000 and the 2007 UK national surveys of psychiatric morbidity were used. Bullying was assessed from a card listing stressful events over the lifespan; our dependent variables included persecutory ideation, hallucinatory experiences and diagnoses of probable psychosis. All analyses were controlled for socio-demographic confounders, IQ and other traumas OUTCOMES Bullying was cross-sectionally associated with measures both of persecutory ideation and of hallucinations, remaining so after adjustment for socio-demographics, IQ, other traumas and childhood sexual abuse. Bullying was associated with a diagnosis of probable psychosis and at baseline predicted 18-month inceptions of paranoid ideation and hallucinatory experiences. In the analyses, controlling for other traumas and childhood sexual abuse did not affect the association with psychotic symptoms but reduced the significance with that of probable psychosis. Bullying was most strongly associated with the joint presence of these symptoms. INTERPRETATION Bullying victimization increases the risk both of individual psychotic symptoms and of a diagnosis of probable psychosis. Early detection of bullying and treatments oriented towards its psychological consequences may ameliorate the course of psychosis.
Pathways Between Childhood Victimization and Psychosis-like Symptoms in the ALSPAC Birth Cohort
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2013
However, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms involved in this pathway and the few existing studies have relied on cross-sectional assessments. Methods: Prospective data on 6692 children from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used to address this issue. Mothers reported on children's exposure to harsh parenting and domestic violence in early childhood, and children self-reported on bullying victimization prior to 8.5 years. Presence of children's anxiety at 10 years and their depressive symptoms at 9 and 11 years were ascertained from mothers, and children completed assessments of self-esteem and locus of control at 8.5 years. Children were interviewed regarding psychotic symptoms at a mean age of 12.9 years. Multiple mediation analysis was performed to examine direct and indirect effects of each childhood adversity on psychotic symptoms. Results: The association between harsh parenting and psychotic symptoms was fully mediated by anxiety, depressive symptoms, external locus of control, and low self-esteem. Bullying victimization and exposure to domestic violence had their associations with psychotic symptoms partially mediated by anxiety, depression, locus of control, and self-esteem. Similar results were obtained following adjustment for a range of confounders and when analyses were conducted for boys and girls separately. Conclusions: These findings tentatively suggest that specific cognitive and affective difficulties in childhood could be targeted to minimize the likelihood of adolescents exposed to early trauma from developing psychotic symptoms.
Schizophrenia bulletin, 2014
Background: Bullying is a risk factor for developing psychotic experiences (PEs). Whether bullying is associated with particular PEs, and the extent to which genes and environments influence the association, are unknown. This study investigated which specific PEs in adolescence are associated with earlier bullying victimization and the genetic and environmental contributions underlying their association. Method: Participants were 4826 twin pairs from a longitudinal community-based twin study in England and Wales who reported on their bullying victimization at the age of 12 years. Measures of specific PEs (self-rated Paranoia, Hallucinations, Cognitive disorganization, Grandiosity, Anhedonia, and parent-rated Negative Symptoms) were recorded at age of 16 years. Results: Childhood bullying victimization was most strongly associated with Paranoia in adolescence (r = .26; P < .01), with weaker associations with Hallucinations, Cognitive Disorganization, parent-rated Negative Symptoms...
Psychological Medicine, 2016
BackgroundThere has been considerable recent interest in possible causal linkages between exposure to bullying victimization and later psychotic symptomatology. Prior research in this area has had several limitations which make it difficult to ascertain causality, and to determine the extent to which these effects extend beyond adolescence.MethodData were obtained from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 35-year study of a longitudinal birth cohort. This investigation used generalized estimating equation modelling to estimate the associations between bullying victimization (ages 13–16 years) and psychotic symptoms (ages 18–35 years), before and after controlling for possible confounding factors, including: gender; childhood socio-economic status; child intelligence quotient; exposure to sexual abuse in childhood; anxious/withdrawn behaviour and attention problems (ages 7–9 years); and adolescent psychotic symptoms and paranoid ideation (ages 15–16 years).ResultsThere wa...
Longitudinal investigation of the relationship between bullying and psychosocial adjustment
European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 2011
This is the first study to investigate whether positive family history (FH) of psychosis and affective disorders moderates the relationship between child diagnostic status and parent-reported social and behavioral problems on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in clinical high-risk adolescents. This longitudinal investigation assessed 122 participants (mean age = 14.25 ± 1.8 years) from three groups (at-risk, other personality disorders, non-psychiatric controls) at baseline and one year follow-up. As predicted, there was a main effect of FH for a number of CBCL scales indicating higher scores for adolescents with positive FH. The findings also demonstrate a significant Diagnostic Status X Family History interaction for several behavioral scales providing support for FH as a concurrent and longitudinal moderator of the relationship between diagnostic status and CBCL scales. The moderating effect is present for areas of functioning associated with depression, anxiety, social adjustment, thought problems, attention problems, and aggressive behavior. The findings also indicate that both positive and negative symptoms are related to the genetic vulnerability for developing psychosis in clinical high-risk individuals, particularly those symptoms reflective of emotional, attentional, and interpersonal functioning. The present findings are novel and have significant clinical and research implications. This investigation provides a platform for future studies to clarify further the role of FH in clinical high-risk individuals and contribute to integration of this knowledge in the development of early intervention and prevention approaches in at-risk populations for the emergence of severe mental illness.
Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2012
Evidence suggests that adverse experiences in childhood are associated with psychosis. To examine the association between childhood adversity and trauma (sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, neglect, parental death, and bullying) and psychosis outcome, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and Web of Science were searched from January 1980 through November 2011. We included prospective cohort studies, large-scale crosssectional studies investigating the association between childhood adversity and psychotic symptoms or illness, case-control studies comparing the prevalence of adverse events between psychotic patients and controls using dichotomous or continuous measures, and case-control studies comparing the prevalence of psychotic symptoms between exposed and nonexposed subjects using dichotomous or continuous measures of adversity and psychosis. The analysis included 18 case-control studies (n 5 2048 psychotic patients and 1856 nonpsychiatric controls), 10 prospective and quasi-prospective studies (n 5 41 803) and 8 population-based cross-sectional studies (n 5 35 546). There were significant associations between adversity and psychosis across all research designs, with an overall effect of OR 5 2.78 (95% CI 5 2.34-3.31). The integration of the case-control studies indicated that patients with psychosis were 2.72 times more likely to have been exposed to childhood adversity than controls (95% CI 5 1.90-3.88). The association between childhood adversity and psychosis was also significant in populationbased cross-sectional studies (OR 5 2.99 [95% CI 5 2.12-4.20]) as well as in prospective and quasiprospective studies (OR 5 2.75 [95% CI 5 2.17-3.47]). The estimated population attributable risk was 33% (16%-47%). These findings indicate that childhood adversity is strongly associated with increased risk for psychosis.
The International journal of social psychiatry, 2017
Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are common in the general population and increase the risk of psychotic disorders. Adolescents are a high-risk group of this condition. Stressful events, such as bullying, have a role in the onset of PLEs. This study has several aims: (1) to assess PLEs in adolescents seeking help from a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, (2) to assess the association of PLEs with specific bullying victimization and (3) to assess difference in PLEs and victimizations by sex and age. Participants were help-seeking (HS) adolescents initially screened for PLEs. They completed an assessment including characteristics of PLEs and bullying victimization. We paid particular attention to different kinds of PLEs and victimization. In total, 50 PLE-positive adolescents screened from 324 HS adolescents (15.4%) constituted the sample. Paranoia and verbal bullying were the PLEs and form of victimization most represented, respectively. Verbal bullying was strongly associa...