Effect of childhood trauma on patients with schizophrenia

Introduction Recent research shows that exposure to trauma, such as child abuse, may result in a heightened risk of developing schizophrenia and worsening of positive symptoms in schizophrenic patient. Objectives The objective of this study was to examine the relation between childhood abuse and psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. Methods Participants were outpatients of Hedi chaker University Hospital Center in sfax, Tunisia, recruited between January and July of 2019, diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-SF), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were administered in this study to evaluate respectively childhood trauma and psychotic symptoms Results 44 patients were included in this study with an average age 39,81 ±9,7. The rate of emotional abuse was 15.9%, physical abuse 31.8%, sexual abuse 15.8%, emotional neglect 6.8% and physical neglect 18.2%. PANS positive score (r=0,59 ; p< 10 -3 ), PANS negative score (r=0,55 ; p< 10 -3 ) and PANS psychopathology score(r =0,45, p<0,002) were higher in patients who had a history of childhood trauma in comparison with those who did not report experiencing this. Conclusions This study confirms that a history of Childhood trauma may have a serious impact in patients with schizophrenia.