T2. ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES IN PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Abstract

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) pose a public health concern worldwide (Anda, Tietjen, Schulman, Felitti, & Croft, 2010). Prevalence rates of ACEs appear to vary widely among countries (Finkelhor, Hotaling, Lewis, & Smith, 1990). ACEs are associated with increased likelihood of developing a mental illness (Green et al., 2010), including schizophrenia (Gibson, Alloy, & Ellman, 2016). Although this is a well-established finding in Western samples, it has only been addressed in a South African sample in one study (Kilian et al., 2017). In the current study, we aimed to examine the association between ACEs and schizophrenia in a South African sample. Method(s): Participants included 34 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 33 non-psychiatric control participants. Schizophrenia and control participants did not differ on mean age (t(65) = 1.16, p = .251) or ethnicity (X2 (3, N = 66) = 4.27, p = .234). Schizophrenia participants were recruited as part of a larger research protocol within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, South Africa. ACEs were assessed using the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 2003). Result(s): Separate independent t-tests were used to compare CTQ total and subscale scores between groups. Scores on the CTQ total and all subscales did not differ significantly between schizophrenia participants and controls (ps > .05)). Additional independent t-tests were used to compare CTQ scores in females with schizophrenia against female control subjects and males with schizophrenia against male controls. Females differed significantly between groups on one subscale, Physical Abuse, with female controls experiencing higher levels of physical abuse (t(65) = -2.33, p = .028). Males with schizophrenia scored significantly higher on the Emotional Neglect subscale (t(65) = 2.73, p = .010) and showed higher scores on the Physical Neglect subscale at a trend level of significance (t(65) = 2.03, p = .055). Males with schizophrenia also scored significantly higher on overall Neglect total (t(65) = 2.83, p = .008). Separate independent t-tests were used to compare groups on the number of types of traumas experienced in childhood. Number of types of trauma did not differ significantly between groups (t(64) = .228, p = .820). Discussion(s): In the current study, we found no differences in the overall number of ACEs in people with schizophrenia as compared to nonpsychiatric control participants. As well, we did not find overall differences in ACEs in females and males with schizophrenia. These findings are in contrast to most previous research. This study may highlight limitations in measuring ACEs across cultures using the CTQ.