Psychotic-like experiences and correlation with childhood trauma and other socio-demographic factors: A cross-sectional survey in adolescence and early adulthood in China.

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in adolescence are found to be risk factors for later mental disorders. Previous research has also found that childhood trauma has a positive correlation with mental health problems. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between them, especially in adolescence and early adulthood. A total of 9122 students (age between 10 and 23.3) were surveyed and assessed with the positive and depressive subscales of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences and the Trauma History Questionnaire. A total of 20.7% students experienced frequent PLEs, 17.5% had frequent delusional experiences, and 7.6% had frequent hallucinatory experiences. Only a small portion of this sample experienced frequent PLEs, associated with more types of PLEs, more distress, and more depressive experiences. Several socio-demographic factors were associated with frequent PLEs in this sample, which could be further examined in future prevention studies. Students with frequent PLEs experienced significantly higher impact from trauma events, both at the time of the events and in the present, indicating a possible reciprocal effect between childhood trauma and PLEs. The impact of childhood trauma played an important role in the relationship between childhood trauma and PLEs.

Psychotic-like experiences, trauma and related risk factors among "left-behind" children in China.

BACKGROUND: Large scale migration of workers due to wage differences across regions of China has separated millions of children, called "left-behind children" from their parents. Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are thought to be associated with childhood deprivation and may predict later psychotic disorders but have not been studied in this potentially vulnerable population. METHODS: Data were collected from representative samples of students in thirteen middle schools in the Xiangxi region and Changsha city of Hunan province (N=6623), of whom 1360 (21.3%) were "left-behind" children. Children were surveyed with the positive frequency subscales of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences and the Trauma History Questionnaire child version. RESULTS: More "left-behind" children reported experiencing PLEs than others. They also scored higher on the overall frequency of PLEs, severity of childhood trauma, and the subjectively perceived psychological impact of trauma both at the time of the events and at present. Compared with "left-behind" children raised by a parent or by grandparents, those raised by others reported suffering more severe impact both at the time of the events and at present. Among "left-behind" children trauma history was the most important correlate of PLEs followed by Han ethnicity, older age, and not having a stable family income. CONCLUSION: "Left-behind" children are at higher risk for PLEs and suffer more traumatic events than other Chinese children. Interventions that reduce trauma risk and improve relationships with caregivers may be helpful, especially for older "left-behind" children.

Psychotic-like experiences and associated socio-demographic factors among adolescents in China.

OBJECTIVE: Adolescents with persistent psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) may be at high risk for later development of psychoses. Exploring early age risk factors for PLEs may provide useful information for prevention of mental disorders and improvement of mental health. METHOD: A total of 5427 adolescents (aged between 10 and 16) participated in a cross-sectional survey, with social and demographic information collected. The Positive Subscale of Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) was used to measure PLEs, and the CAPE Depressive and Negative Subscales were used to examine depressive and negative experiences. The Trauma History Questionnaire (child version) was used to assess experiences of previous traumatic events. RESULTS: In our study, 95.7% of the adolescents reported more than one episode of PLEs, while 17.2% reported "nearly always" having PLEs. High positive correlations were shown both between frequency scores among experiences of three dimensions (PLEs, depressive and negative experiences), and between frequency and distress scores. Factors associated with a higher risk for more frequent and distressing PLEs include: urban setting, family history of psychiatric illnesses, and higher impact from previous traumatic events at present. CONCLUSIONS: Episodes of PLEs are common in Chinese adolescents, however only a small proportion have persistent PLEs, with worsening distress as the frequency increased. PLEs shared similar environmental and genetic risk factors not only with the clinical phenotypes, which is consistent with the continuity model of PLEs, but also with depressive and negative experiences, which may imply etiologic relation between different dimensions of psychosis at the subclinical level.