TY - JOUR
T1 - Protective factors for psychotic experiences amongst adolescents exposed to multiple forms of victimization
AU - Crush, Eloise
AU - Arseneault, Louise
AU - Moffitt, Terrie Edith
AU - Danese, Andrea
AU - Caspi, Avshalom
AU - Jaffee, Sara
AU - Matthews, Timothy
AU - Fisher, Helen
PY - 2018/9
Y1 - 2018/9
N2 - Experiencing multiple types of victimization (poly-victimization) during adolescence is associated with the onset of psychotic experiences (such as hearing voices, having visions, or being extremely paranoid). However, many poly-victimized adolescents will not develop such subclinical phenomena and the factors that protect them are unknown. This study investigated whether individual, family, or community-level characteristics were associated with an absence of psychotic experiences amongst poly-victimized adolescents. Participants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative cohort of 2232 UK-born twins. Exposure to seven different types of victimization between ages 12-18 was ascertained using a modified version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire at age 18. Adolescents were also interviewed about psychotic experiences at age 18. Protective factors were measured at ages 12 and 18. We found that exposure to poly-victimization during adolescence was associated with age-18 psychotic experiences (OR=4.62, 95% CI 3.59-5.94, P<0.001), but more than a third of the poly-victimized adolescents reported having no psychotic experiences (40.1%). Greater social support was found to be protective against adolescent psychotic experiences even amongst those exposed to poly-victimization. Engaging in physical activity and greater neighborhood social cohesion were also associated with a reduced likelihood of age-18 psychotic experiences in the whole sample, with non-significant trends in the poly-victimized group. Increasing social support and promoting physical activity appear to be important areas for future research into the development of preventive interventions targeting adolescent psychotic experiences. This adds further weight to calls to increase the promotion of these factors on a public health scale.
Keywords: Adolescence; exercise; poly-victimization; psychosis; resilience; social support.
AB - Experiencing multiple types of victimization (poly-victimization) during adolescence is associated with the onset of psychotic experiences (such as hearing voices, having visions, or being extremely paranoid). However, many poly-victimized adolescents will not develop such subclinical phenomena and the factors that protect them are unknown. This study investigated whether individual, family, or community-level characteristics were associated with an absence of psychotic experiences amongst poly-victimized adolescents. Participants were from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative cohort of 2232 UK-born twins. Exposure to seven different types of victimization between ages 12-18 was ascertained using a modified version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire at age 18. Adolescents were also interviewed about psychotic experiences at age 18. Protective factors were measured at ages 12 and 18. We found that exposure to poly-victimization during adolescence was associated with age-18 psychotic experiences (OR=4.62, 95% CI 3.59-5.94, P<0.001), but more than a third of the poly-victimized adolescents reported having no psychotic experiences (40.1%). Greater social support was found to be protective against adolescent psychotic experiences even amongst those exposed to poly-victimization. Engaging in physical activity and greater neighborhood social cohesion were also associated with a reduced likelihood of age-18 psychotic experiences in the whole sample, with non-significant trends in the poly-victimized group. Increasing social support and promoting physical activity appear to be important areas for future research into the development of preventive interventions targeting adolescent psychotic experiences. This adds further weight to calls to increase the promotion of these factors on a public health scale.
Keywords: Adolescence; exercise; poly-victimization; psychosis; resilience; social support.
U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.06.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2018.06.011
M3 - Article
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 104
SP - 32
EP - 38
JO - Journal of psychiatric research
JF - Journal of psychiatric research
ER -
