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Published on: March 8, 2018
The association between trauma and delusional-like experiences.
Sukanta Saha1, Daniel Varghese, Tim Slade
1Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research, The Park Centre for Mental Health, Wacol, QLD 4076, Australia.
Childhood trauma significantly increases the risk of delusional-like experiences (DLE). Experiencing more trauma types further elevates this risk, regardless of when the trauma occurred.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Childhood trauma is linked to increased risk of mental health conditions.
- Delusional-like experiences (DLE) are associated with significant distress and functional impairment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between trauma exposure and DLE in a large community sample.
- To examine the impact of different trauma types and age at first exposure on DLE.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2007.
- Employed logistic regression to assess associations between DLE and trauma exposure, adjusting for confounders.
Main Results:
- 8.4% of 8773 participants reported DLE; nearly 75% reported trauma exposure.
- Trauma exposure was associated with over double the odds of DLE.
- Increased trauma types showed a dose-dependent increase in DLE likelihood; all exposure ages were linked to DLE.
Conclusions:
- Trauma exposure, particularly multiple types and at any age, is strongly associated with DLE.
- Further research into biological and cognitive mechanisms is needed to understand this link.
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