title: Dissociation mediates the relationship between childhood maltreatment and subclinical psychosis.
abstract: More than a third of the population report childhood adversity, and these experiences are associated with an increased risk of clinical and subclinical psychosis. The reason why some people go on to develop mental health problems and others do not is a key question for study. It has been hypothesized that dissociative processes mediate the relationship between early adversity and psychosis. The current study assessed whether dissociation, and specifically depersonalization (one component of dissociation), plays a mediating role in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and both hallucination proneness and delusional ideation. The study used a cross-sectional design and recruited a student sample to assess these relationships in a nonclinical group. Dissociation mediated the relationship between early maltreatment and both hallucination proneness and delusional ideation. In terms of specific dissociative processes, depersonalization did not mediate hallucination proneness or delusional ideation. Absorption mediated hallucination proneness; dissociative amnesia (negatively) and absorption mediated delusional ideation. It is likely that dissociation interferes with the encoding of traumatic information in nonclinical as well as clinical groups and in certain ways. Absorption may be particularly relevant. For some people, traumatic memories may intrude into conscious awareness in adulthood as psychotic-type experience.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Southampton , Southampton , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Charles Lewis
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Southampton , Southampton , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Newman-Taylor
authors.affiliation: b Greenwood Mentors , Ryde , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003702:Delusions / Q000523:psychology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Childhood adversity; childhood maltreatment; delusional ideation; depersonalization dissociation; hallucination proneness; psychosis