M122. Impact of Childhood Trauma on Educational Achievement in Young People at Clinical High Risk of Psychosis

Abstract

Abstract Several studies reported that childhood trauma is associated with the emergence of psychosis as well as with several cognitive deficits including impaired memory, attention and emotion discrimination (Varese et al 2013; Kraan et al 2015). However, little is known about the impact of early adverse experiences on educational achievement in people at clinical high risk (CHR) of developing psychosis. This study examines the relationship between specific types of childhood trauma and academic achievements in CHR. Ninety-six CHR participants were recruited after consecutive referrals to the Outreach and Support in South London early intervention team and 39 healthy comparisons (HC) were recruited from the same area. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to examine type and severity of childhood trauma and a semi-structured interview was used to collect data on educational achievement. Data was analyzed using multiple linear regressions and multinomial logistic regression on years and level of education with primary predictors CTQ scales and potential confounders age, gender and IQ. Compared to HC, CHR reached a significantly lower level of education ( < .001) and spent significantly fewer years in education ( = .002). 65.6% CHR and 23.1% HC experienced some form of childhood abuse or neglect. The amount of childhood trauma experienced was significantly associated to number of years of education, regardless of the diagnosis ( = −0.042; = .014). Physical neglect in CHR was significantly associated to years of education completed ( = −0.320; = .002). Interactions between age and physical neglect ( = .022), age and physical abuse ( < .001) and gender and physical abuse ( = .003) predicted the level of education in CHR. These results suggest that young individuals at high risk of psychosis are particularly vulnerable to the effects of trauma on educational achievements. Early intervention services should aim at developing specific interventional programmes that can support completion or return to education paying particular attention to those individuals who have experienced childhood trauma.