Childhood trauma associates with clinical features of schizophrenia in a sample of Chinese inpatients

Abstract

This study examined the association between childhood trauma and clinical features, comorbid anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and suicidal and aggressive behaviors in Chinese patients with schizophrenia. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – Short Form (CTQ-SF), the Impact of Events Scale – Revised (IES-R), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) were administered to 182 Chinese inpatients with schizophrenia. The relationship between the severity and the number of traumic experiences and clinical features were analyzed. Physical neglect (PN) in childhood was reported in 71.7% of this sample, followed by emotional neglect (EN, 58.6%), sexual abuse (SA, 39.9%), emotional abuse (EA, 31.7%) and physical abuse (PA, 22.2%). Significant negative correlations existed between age of onset and the EA scores. Significant positive correlations were found between the subscores of IES-R, STAI and CTQ-SF. Patients with history of suicidal or aggressive behaviors had significantly higher trauma scores than patients without such behaviors. Exposure to childhood trauma is associated with early age of onset, more PTSD and anxiety symptoms, and history of suicidal and aggressive behaviors. A dose-effect may exist between severity, number of trauma experiences, and clinical features.