Impact of childhood trauma on educational achievement in young people at clinical high risk of psychosis
Poster C133, Saturday, October 22, 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, Le Baron
Stefania Tognin1, Maria Calem1, Gemma Modinos1, Alessia Avila1, Mathilde Antoniades1, Matthew Kempton1, Philip McGuire1, Lucia Valmaggia1; 1Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience
Several studies reported that childhood trauma is associated with the emergence of psychosis as well as with several cognitive deficits including impaired memory, attention and emotion discrimination. However, little is known about the impact of early adverse experiences on educational achievement in people at clinical high risk (CHR) of developing psychosis. This study examines the relationship between specific types of childhood trauma and academic achievements in CHR. 96 CHR participants were recruited after consecutive referrals to the Outreach and Support in South London early intervention team and 39 healthy comparisons (HC) were recruited from the same area. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to examine type and severity of childhood trauma and a semi-structured interview was used to collect data on educational achievement. Data was analysed using multiple linear regressions and multinomial logistic regression on years and level of education with primary predictors CTQ scales and potential confounders age and gender. Compared to HC, CHR reached a significantly lower level of education (p<0.001) and spent significantly fewer years in education (p=0.002). 65.6% CHR and 23.1% HC experienced some form of childhood abuse or neglect. The amount of childhood trauma experienced was significantly associated to number of years of education, regardless of the diagnosis (b=-0.198;p=0.031). Physical neglect in CHR was significantly associated to years of education completed (b=-0.324;p=0.002). The interactions between emotional abuse and gender (p=0.001) and physical neglect and age (p=0.008) significantly predicted the level of education in CHR. Early intervention should help facilitating completion or return to education.
Topic Area: Ultra High Risk / Prodromal Research