Trajectories of Early Childhood Developmental Skills and Early Adolescent Psychotic Experiences: Findings from the ALSPAC UK Birth Cohort.

Giovanni Salvi,Stanley Zammit,Mohajer A. Hameed,Raghu Lingam,Andrew J. Lewis,Sarah Sullivan

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02314

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to use prospective data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to examine association between trajectories of early childhood developmental skills and psychotic experiences (PEs) in early adolescence.Method: This study examined data from n = 6790 children from the ALSPAC cohort who participated in a semi-structured interview to assess PEs at age 12. Child development was measured using parental report at 6, 18, 30, and 42 months of age using a questionnaire of items adapted from the Denver Developmental Screening Test – II. Latent class growth analysis was used to generate trajectories over time for measures of fine and gross motor development, social, and communication skills. Logistic regression was used to investigate associations between developmental trajectories in each of these early developmental domains and PEs at age 12.Results: The results provided evidence that decline rather than enduringly poor social (adjusted OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.10–1.92, p = 0.044) and communication skills (adjusted OR 1.12, 95% CI = 1.03–1.22, p = 0.010) is predictive of suspected or definite PEs in early adolescence, than those with stable and/or improving skills. Motor skills did not display the same pattern of association; although gender specific effects provided evidence that only declining pattern of fine motor skills was associated with suspected and definite PEs in males compared to females (interaction OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.09–1.97, p = 0.012).Conclusion: Findings suggest that decline rather than persistent impairment in social and communication skills were most predictive of PEs in early adolescence. Findings are discussed in terms of study’s strengths, limitations, and clinical implications.

Highlights

Over the last decade, there has been increasing interest in early adolescent psychotic experiences (PEs) in the general population as a sign of vulnerability to adult psychopathologies including schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (Nuevo et al, 2012; Hameed, 2013)
This study examined data from N = 6790 (44.6%) children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort who participated in the psychosis-like symptoms (PLIKS) interview at mean age 12.9
In this study, only 5345 (35.1%) children had complete data related to early developmental domains and PLIKS in early adolescence

Summary

Introduction

There has been increasing interest in early adolescent psychotic experiences (PEs) in the general population as a sign of vulnerability to adult psychopathologies including schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (Nuevo et al, 2012; Hameed, 2013). Accumulated evidence indicate that PEs are relatively common in early adolescence (van Os et al, 2000; Dhossche et al, 2002; Rossler et al, 2007; Horwood et al, 2008; Kelleher and Cannon, 2011; Laurens et al, 2012). These experiences (e.g., hallucinations, delusions, and thought broadcasting) do not represent a clinical diagnosis and are not, in themselves, an indication for clinical intervention. PEs in adolescence can be conceptualized as a nonspecific developmental predictor of a broad range of adult mental health problems (Nuevo et al, 2012; Fisher et al, 2013; Zammit et al, 2013)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion