Severe abuse in childhood may treble risk of schizophrenia, 30-60% overlap of child maltreatment and domestic violence

Severe abuse in childhood may treble risk of schizophrenia – Research links sexual, physical and emotional abuse, school bullying and parental neglect to schizophrenia in adulthood – Alok Jha, science correspondent  guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 April 2012

Children who experience severe forms of abuse are around three times as likely to develop schizophrenia and related psychoses in later life compared with children who do not experience such abuse, according to a study that has brought together psychiatric data from almost 80,000 people.

The results add to a growing body of evidence that childhood maltreatment or abuse can raise the risk of developing mental illnesses in adulthood, including depression, personality disorders and anxiety.

Prof Richard Bentall of the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, who led the study, showed that the risk of developing psychosis increased in line with the amount of abuse or trauma a child had gone through, with the most severely affected children having a 50-fold increased risk compared with children who had suffered no abuse. He also showed that the type of trauma experienced in childhood affected the subsequent psychiatric symptoms later in life….

Bentall’s team analysed 36 published studies that contained data on childhood maltreatment (including sexual, physical and emotional abuse, death of a parent, school bullying and neglect) and psychiatric symptoms in almost 80,000 people, collected over the course of 30 years. People who experienced these types of trauma in childhood were between 2.7 and 3 times as likely to develop schizophrenia as adults, the team found. The research is published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin….

The latest results add to recent evidence that childhood abuse can lead to serious problems in later life. In 2011, scientists at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London found that people with a history of abuse or maltreatment during childhood were more than twice as likely to have recurrent episodes of depression in adulthood and also 43% more likely to experience a poor outcome when it came to psychological or drug-based treatment. They examined data from 16 epidemiological studies involving more than 23,000 people in total and 10 clinical trials involving more than 3,000 people

The mechanisms behind the link between childhood maltreatment and schizophrenia are not yet understood. Earlier this year, psychiatrists at Harvard University found that being sexually or emotionally abused as a child correlated with reduced volumes of three important areas of the hippocampus, which is involved in the control of memory and regulation of emotions. Volumes were reduced by up to 6.5%. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/apr/18/severe-abuse-childhood-risk-schizophrenia

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/04/21/severe-abuse-in-childhood-may-triple-risk-of-schizophrenia/

Childhood Adversities Increase the Risk of Psychosis: A Meta-analysis of Patient-Control, Prospective- and Cross-sectional Cohort Studies

Filippo Varese,  Feikje Smeets, Marjan Drukker, Ritsaert Lieverse, Tineke Lataster, Wolfgang Viechtbauer, John Read, Jim van Os and Richard P. Bentall

Abstract

Evidence suggests that adverse experiences in childhood are associated with psychosis. To examine the association between childhood adversity and trauma (sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional/psychological abuse, neglect, parental death, and bullying) and psychosis outcome, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and Web of Science were searched from January 1980 through November 2011. We included prospective cohort studies, large-scale cross-sectional studies investigating the association between childhood adversity and psychotic symptoms or illness, case-control studies comparing the prevalence of adverse events between psychotic patients and controls using dichotomous or continuous measures, and case-control studies comparing the prevalence of psychotic symptoms between exposed and nonexposed subjects using dichotomous or continuous measures of adversity and psychosis. The analysis included 18 case-control studies (n = 2048 psychotic patients and 1856 nonpsychiatric controls), 10 prospective and quasi-prospective studies (n = 41?803) and 8 population-based cross-sectional studies (n = 35?546). There were significant associations between adversity and psychosis across all research designs, with an overall effect of OR = 2.78 (95% CI = 2.34–3.31). The integration of the case-control studies indicated that patients with psychosis were 2.72 times more likely to have been exposed to childhood adversity than controls (95% CI = 1.90–3.88). The association between childhood adversity and psychosis was also significant in population-based cross-sectional studies (OR = 2.99 [95% CI = 2.12–4.20]) as well as in prospective and quasi-prospective studies (OR = 2.75 [95% CI = 2.17–3.47]). The estimated population attributable risk was 33% (16%–47%). These findings indicate that childhood adversity is strongly associated with increased risk for psychosis.http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/03/28/schbul.sbs050

full article  http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/03/28/schbul.sbs050.full

The 30-60% overlap of child maltreatment and domestic violence in families indicates a need for child protection policy and practice that reflects this co-occurrence. In 2009, the NRCCPS collaborated with the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to publish Child and Family Service Review Outcomes: Strategies to Improve Domestic Violence Responses in CFSR Program Improvement Plans to help child protection agencies develop and implement policy and best practice respond to the need for improving and deepening the child pro identified in the CFSR process.  http://nrccps.org/special-initiatives/domestic-violence/

Child Abuse Leaves Mark on Brain

Child Abuse Leaves Mark on Brain
Jennifer Welsh  Live Science Mon, 13 Feb 2012

Childhood abuse and maltreatment can shrink important parts of the brain, a new study of adults suggests.

Reduced brain volume in parts of the hippocampus could help to explain why childhood problems often lead to later psychiatric disorders, such as depression, drug addiction and other mental health problems, the researchers say. This link could help researchers find better ways to treat survivors of childhood abuse.

“These results may provide one explanation for why childhood abuse has been identified with an increased risk for drug abuse or psychosis,” study researcher Martin Teicher, of Harvard University, told LiveScience. “Now that one can look at these sub-regions [in the brain], we can get a better idea of what treatments are helping.”

The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 193 individuals between 18 and 25 years old, who had already undergone several rounds of testing to be qualified. They then analyzed the size of areas in the hippocampus and compared the results with the patient’s history. They saw that those who had been abused, neglected or maltreated (based on well-established questionnaires) as children had reduced volume in certain areas of the hippocampus by about 6 percent, compared with kids who hadn’t experienced child abuse.

They also had size reductions in a related brain area called the subiculum, which relays the signals from the hippocampus to other areas of the brain, including the dopamine system, also known as the brain’s “reward center.” Volume reduction in the subiculum has been associated with drug abuse and schizophrenia, as well….

The study was published today (Feb. 13) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.
http://www.livescience.com/18453-child-abuse-brain.html

Tyler Perry’s child abuse and 200 men – Oprah, CSA and psychosis risk

Tyler Perry Tells Oprah More About His Abusive Past By Sara Hammel October 21, 2010  He stunned his fans last year with revelations of his abusive past and now Tyler Perry is opening up about just how bad it got. In a new interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired Wednesday, the writer-director says his own father beat him brutally. In one harrowing moment, he recalls when his father whipped him with a vacuum cord.
….On top of his father’s beatings, Perry says he was sexually abused by four different adults, beginning when he was five or six. On one occasion, he was building a birdhouse with an adult male neighbor who proceeded to put his hands in Tyler’s pants. “I felt my body betraying me,” he says, “because I felt an erection at that age.”
Later, Tyler said he was sexually molested by a male nurse and a man he knew from church. The man from church “used God and the Bible against me to justify a lot of the things that were going on. It was so horrible,” he said. “And that was my first sexual experience – with this man performing oral sex on me as a boy.”
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20435854,00.html

TWO-DAY OPRAH SHOW EVENT: 200 ADULT MEN WHO WERE MOLESTED COME FORWARD november 5, 2010  A landmark Oprah Show event that’s never been done before. Two hundred men courageously stand together to say they were all molested
http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/A-Two-Day-Oprah-Show-Event-200-Men-Who-Were-Molested-Come-Forward_1

Childhood Sexual Abuse May Raise Risk for Psychosis
November 02, 2010.
Abuse involving penetration associated with higher risk, especially for schizophrenic disorders -
Childhood sexual abuse involving penetration appears to increase the risk of developing psychotic disorders later in life, according to research published in the November issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

TUESDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) — Childhood sexual abuse involving penetration appears to increase the risk of developing psychotic disorders later in life, according to research published in the November issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Margaret C. Cutajar, of Monash University in Clifton Hill, Australia, and colleagues studied mental health data on 2,759 subjects who had been sexually abused as children, matched with community-based controls, to explore whether childhood sexual abuse raises the risk for subsequent psychotic disorders.

The researchers found rates for general psychosis, and particularly for schizophrenic disorders, significantly higher in the childhood sexual abuse subjects than in the controls (2.8 versus 1.4 percent for general psychosis and 1.9 versus 0.7 percent for schizophrenic disorders in abuse subjects and controls, respectively). Risk for later psychosis was highest in those whose abuse occurred after age 12, involved penetration, and involved more than one perpetrator. Abuse without penetration was not related to significant increases in general psychosis or schizophrenia.
http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/pb/15321

Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders in a Cohort of Sexually Abused Children
Margaret C. Cutajar, DPsych, MAPS; Paul E. Mullen, DSc, FRANZCP, FRCPsych; James R. P. Ogloff, PhD; Stuart D. Thomas, PhD; David L. Wells, MA, FACLM; Josie Spataro, PhD, MAPS
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2010;67(11):1114-1119. doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.147
Setting – Sample drawn from all notified cases of child sexual abuse over a 30-year period in Victoria, Australia.
Participants – A cohort of 2759 individuals ascertained as having been sexually abused when younger than 16 years had their subsequent contacts with mental health services established by data linkage. They were compared with a community-based control group matched on sex and age groupings whose rates of disorder were established using identical methods.
Main Outcome Measures – Rates of psychotic and schizophrenic illnesses.
Results  Rates were significantly higher among child sexual abuse subjects compared with controls for psychosis in general (2.8% vs 1.4%; odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-3.1; P < .001) and schizophrenic disorders in particular (1.9% vs 0.7%; odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-4.4; P < .001). Those exposed to penetrative abuse had even higher rates of psychosis (3.4%) and schizophrenia (2.4%). Abuse without penetration was not associated with significant increases in psychosis or schizophrenia. The risks were highest for those whose abuse involved penetration, occurred after age 12 years, and involved more than 1 perpetrator, the combination producing rates of 8.6% for schizophrenia and 17.2% for psychosis.
Conclusions  Child sexual abuse involving penetration is a risk factor for developing psychotic and schizophrenic syndromes. The risk is greater for adolescents subjected to penetration. Irrespective of whether this statistical association reflects any causal link, it does identify an at-risk population in need of ongoing support and treatment.
http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/67/11/1114

Sexual Trauma May Spark Mental Health Problems – ScienceDaily

Sexual Trauma May Spark Mental Health Problems – ScienceDaily (June 17, 2010) —

Traumatic sexual incidents may cause serious mental health problems in the years after the events, research at the University of Ulster has shown. Using a unique investigative method, researchers at the University’s Psychology Research Institute examined the mental health of women who had visited rape crisis centres — and it showed that sexual trauma plays a role in the development of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia….

The collaborative study saw the University of Ulster link up with the University of Southern Denmark to examine the data gathered from the Danish Civil Registration System (CRS), which is a database of official information held on Danish citizens since 1968…. A. Elklit, M. Shevlin. Female Sexual Victimization Predicts Psychosis: A Case-Control Study Based on the Danish Registry System. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2010; DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbq048
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100616122318.htm

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ritual abuse, Franklin Scandal, dissociation, schizophrenia and child abuse

The FRANKLIN SCANDAL – A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal By Nick Bryant Allegations of crimes, conspiracies, and cover-ups in the heartland and the capital – A chilling exposé of corporate corruption and government cover-ups, this account of a nationwide child-trafficking and pedophilia ring in the United States tells a sordid tale of corruption in high places. The scandal originally surfaced during an investigation into Omaha, Nebraska’s failed Franklin Federal Credit Union and took the author beyond the Midwest and ultimately to Washington, DC. Implicating businessmen, senators, major media corporations, the CIA, and even the venerable Boys Town organization, this extensively researched report includes firsthand interviews with key witnesses and explores a controversy that has received scant media attention.
The FRANKLIN SCANDAL is the story of a nationwide pedophile ring that pandered children to a cabal of the rich and powerful. The ring’s pimps were a pair of Republican powerbrokers who used Boys Town as a pedophiliac reservoir, had access to the highest levels of our government, and connections to the CIA. ISBN: 0977795322
http://trineday.com/paypal_store/product_pages/Franklin.html
TrineDay P O Box 577 Walterville, OR 97489 1-800-556-2012
http://franklinscandal.com/

Trauma And Dissociation in a Cross-cultural Perspective: Not Just a North American Phenomenon (Hardcover) by Jr. George F. Rhoades (Editor), Vedat Sar (Editor) Routledge (2006) ISBN-13: 978-0789034076
An international look at the similarities and differences of long-lasting trauma – Trauma and Dissociation in a Cross-Cultural Perspective examines the psychological, sociological, political, economic, and cultural aspects of trauma and its consequences on people around the world. Dispelling the myth that trauma-related dissociative disorders are a North American phenomenon, this unique book travels through more than a dozen countries to analyze the effects of long-lasting traumatization-both natural and man-made-on adults and children. Working from theoretical and clinical perspectives, the field’s leading experts address trauma in situations that range from the psychological effects of “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland to the emergence of “Hikikomori,” the phenomenon of social withdrawal in Japanese youth.
http://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Dissociation-Cross-cultural-Perspective-Phenomenon/dp/0789034077

Models of Madness: Psychological, Social and Biological Approaches to Schizophrenia Book by John Read, Loren R. Mosher, Richard P. Bentall; Brunner-Routledge, 2004. 373 pgs.
p. 223 “Chapter 16 – Childhood trauma, loss and stress -
John Read, Lisa Goodman, Anthony P. Morrison, Colin A. Ross and Volkmar Aderhold – Child abuse has been shown to have a causal role in depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual dysfunction, personality disorders and dissociative disorders (Boney-McCoy and Finkelhor 1996; Kendler et al. 2000). The more severe the abuse, the greater is the probability of these problems in adulthood (Mullen et al. 1993). Yet it is often assumed that child abuse is less related to the more severe psychiatric disorders, such as psychosis in general and schizophrenia in particular. We will demonstrate, however, that the relationship between childhood trauma and the symptoms of schizophrenia is as strong, or stronger, than the relationships between childhood trauma and less severe disorders.”
p242 ” The ‘traumagenic neurodevelopmental’ model -
22 What does it mean that the heightened sensitivity to stressors found in ‘schizophrenia’ consists, for many patients, of long-lasting neuro-developmental changes to the brain caused by trauma in the early years of life? The evidence for this is that all the structural and functional differences between the brains of ‘schizophrenics’and ‘normal’ adults are the same differences found between young children who have been traumatized and those who have not. These include: overactivity of the hypothalamic-adrenal-pituitary axis; dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine abnormalities; and structural differences such as hippocampal damage, cerebral atrophy, ventricular enlargements and reversed cerebral asymmetry. The same differences are found between children with and without childhood-onset schizophrenia (Read et al. 2001b).
23 Can the traumagenic neurodevelopmental model also explain some of the cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia, which are also found in abused children (Lysaker et al. 200Ib; Read et al. 200Ib), such as deficits in verbal functioning (Heinrichs and Zakzanis 1998) and intellectual decline during childhood (Kremen et al. 1998)?
24 What does it mean that many of the effects of trauma on the developing brain, which are so similar to the dysfunctions found in the brains of adult and childhood ‘schizophrenics’, are also found in other trauma-based symptom clusters including post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociative disorders (Ito et al. 1993; Sapolsky 2000)?”
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=108472778

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy After Child Abuse: The Treatment of Adults and Children Who Have Experienced Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Neglect in Childhood – Karnac Books (2008) Edited by Daniel McQueen, Catherine Itzin, Roger Kennedy, Valerie Sinason and Fay Maxted. A coherent and readable narrative review of the current state of knowledge of the effects and role of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the treatment of children and adults who have experienced childhood abuse and neglect. This book is intended for practitioners of psychiatric, psychological, and psychoanalytic therapies and providers of mental health services to children and adults. It should inform Primary Care Trusts, Children’s Services commissioners, and health service providers about theoretical approaches and therapeutic practice involved in psychoanalytic psychotherapy. ISBN 13 : 9781855756397
http://www.karnacbooks.com/Product.asp?PID=27557
http://books.google.com/books?id=ubGuZGGU77cC&pg=PT25&lpg=PT25&dq=psychoanalytic+psychotherapy+after+child+abuse&source=bl&ots=IuTSmiBBDx&sig=33uSFWFqEn9TZxpgkI46ogAtmH4&hl=en&ei=iPSaSqDzHIPQlAfNo_G2BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false

The latest newsletter SMART newsletter – Issue 88 – September 2009
with information on pedophile rings, clergy abuse, ritual abuse, mind control, MK-ULTRA, Wikipedia blacklisting of ritual abuse pages and dissociative identity disorder is   at http://ritualabuse.us/2009/08/issue-88-september-2009/

http://ritualabuse.us/newsletter/

Information on how to order CDs from our August ritual abuse conference is at http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/