title: Psychological processes underlying the association between childhood trauma and psychosis in daily life: an experience sampling study.
abstract: Evidence has accumulated that implicates childhood trauma in the aetiology of psychosis, but our understanding of the putative psychological processes and mechanisms through which childhood trauma impacts on individuals and contributes to the development of psychosis remains limited. We aimed to investigate whether stress sensitivity and threat anticipation underlie the association between childhood abuse and psychosis.
  
  
  
  We used the Experience Sampling Method to measure stress, threat anticipation, negative affect, and psychotic experiences in 50 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, 44 At-Risk Mental State (ARMS) participants, and 52 controls. Childhood abuse was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.
  
  
  
  Associations of minor socio-environmental stress in daily life with negative affect and psychotic experiences were modified by sexual abuse and group (all p FWE < 0.05). While there was strong evidence that these associations were greater in FEP exposed to high levels of sexual abuse, and some evidence of greater associations in ARMS exposed to high levels of sexual abuse, controls exposed to high levels of sexual abuse were more resilient and reported less intense negative emotional reactions to socio-environmental stress. A similar pattern was evident for threat anticipation.
  
  
  
  Elevated sensitivity and lack of resilience to socio-environmental stress and enhanced threat anticipation in daily life may be important psychological processes underlying the association between childhood sexual abuse and psychosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology,School for Mental Health and Neuroscience,Maastricht University,Maastricht,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Reininghaus
authors.affiliation: Health Service and Population Research Department,Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London,London,UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gayer-Anderson
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Valmaggia
authors.affiliation: Psychosis Studies Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kempton
authors.affiliation: Psychosis Studies Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calem
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Onyejiaka
authors.affiliation: Health Service and Population Research Department,Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London,London,UK.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.affiliation: Psychosis Studies Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dazzan
authors.affiliation: Health Service and Population Research Department,Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London,London,UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beards
authors.affiliation: MRC Social,Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London,London,UK.
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Psychosis Studies Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: Psychosis Studies Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.affiliation: Health Service and Population Research Department,Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London,London,UK.
authors.forename: T K J
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garety
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychology,School for Mental Health and Neuroscience,Maastricht University,Maastricht,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Os
authors.affiliation: Psychosis Studies Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College,London,UK.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wykes
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine,Psychiatry Research Group,Catholic University of Leuven,Leuven,Belgium.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Myin-Germeys
authors.affiliation: Health Service and Population Research Department,Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London,London,UK.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D000072860:Ecological Momentary Assessment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Childhood abuse; ecological momentary assessment; first-episode psychosis; mechanism; prodrome; resilience; stress sensitivity; threat anticipation