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Schizophrenia / Psychotic Disorders

(PS7-84) Age at First Exposure to Trauma as an Early Predictor of Psychoticism

Saturday, November 16, 2024
8:30 AM – 9:30 AM EST
Location: Franklin Hall, Level 4, Marriott Downtown
Abstract Text: Over the past couple of decades, research has shown a high prevalence of childhood trauma in individuals suffering from psychosis. Further, it has been suggested that exposure to traumatic events may pose an important risk factor for later development of psychotic-like symptoms (Alameda et al., 2015). Moreover, an emerging topic within this body of literature is the age at first exposure to trauma and later presentation of psychotic symptoms. Previous findings broadly suggest that the older a child is at first exposure to trauma, the chance of the child developing psychotic symptoms increases. Previous literature also indicates that the older an individual is at first exposure to trauma, the more severe the psychotic symptoms are (Cutajar et al., 2010). However, to the extent of the researcher's knowledge, little has been done to investigate whether any demographic moderators would influence the interaction of age at first exposure to trauma and later presentation of psychoticism. Using a sample (N = 308) representative of the U.S. population, all of whom endorsed at least one exposure to a traumatic event during childhood, moderation analyses were conducted to determine whether ethnicity (white vs. non-white), sex assigned at birth, and family history of psychoticism would influence the relationship of age at first exposure and psychoticism. First, a linear regression model was tested to ensure replication of previous studies in that age at first exposure to trauma predicts psychoticism. The model was significant (multiple R-squared = 0.0288, p < .001), and further replicated previous findings in that older age at first exposure to trauma is a significant predictor of psychotic symptoms in adulthood (b = 0.036, SE = 0.012, p = .004). Next, three separate moderation analyses were conducted using the demographic moderators, each of which yielded non-significant results. Results supported previous literature in that the older an individual is at first exposure to trauma, the more severe the psychotic symptoms are. Understanding that moderating variables such as ethnicity (white vs. non-white), sex assigned at birth, and family history of psychosis do not alter the relationship between age at first exposure and development of psychotic symptoms later in life is important to consider when developing trauma-screening criteria for at-risk youth. One suggestion is the implementation of trauma-screening criteria for all teenagers at annual pediatrician check-ups. Given that demographic variables do not change the relationship between age at first exposure and the severity of psychotic symptoms, it is important to screen all adolescents, regardless of sex, ethnicity, or family history of psychosis. Given that youth who first experience a traumatic event later in childhood (i.e., adolescence) are more likely to have worse psychotic symptoms, it would be logical to screen this specific age group for trauma so that at-risk individuals can be detected early, perhaps even before initial psychotic symptoms emerge.