The relationship between psychosis-like experiences and traumatic life events in the adolescent clinical sample

Objective: It is aimed to examine the prevalence and the relation of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) with traumatic life events in the adolescent clinical sample. Material and Methods: The study sample consisted of 182 adolescents (119 female, 63 male) who applied to Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Balcalı Hospital Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The presence of mental disorders was assessed using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). Psychosis-like experiences were determined by the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences and K-SADS-PL. The sociodemographic data form and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire were administered. Results: PLEs were reported by %69,2 (self-report) and %72 (interview-verified) of the total participants. The most commonly reported PLEs was persecutory ideation. In girls, persecutory ideation and, in boys, grandiosity was higher. Emotional abuse/neglect, physical abuse/neglect, sexual abuse, and peer bullying were related to higher PLEs prevalence. The PLEs prevalence rate is the highest for participants who reported emotional abuse. There was a positive correlation between the number of traumatic life events and the frequency of PLEs. The highest PLEs prevalence was found in eating disorders, trauma-related disorders, and depressive disorders. Conclusion: Our study emphasizes that PLEs are a common phenomenon in non-psychotic clinical samples, and all traumatic life events are related to higher PLEs prevalence. Increased exposure to traumatic experiences may have a cumulative effect on PLEs. Studies to be carried out in larger samples, specific to diagnostic groups, will be more enlightening about PLEs phenomena in mental pathologies. Longitudinal follow-up studies are needed to elucidate the causal mechanisms between trauma and PLEs. Keywords: Adolescent, psychotic-like experiences, trauma.