Colm Healy1, Donal Campbell1, Mary Clarke1, Ian Kelleher1, Mary Cannon1; 1Department of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin
Psychotic experiences (PEs) are commonly reported in childhood and have been associated with mental disorder and poorer global functioning. While it is understood that individuals who report PE in childhood appear susceptible to future mental disorder, little is known about the effects of childhood PEs on future functioning. We investigated the effects of childhood PEs on global functioning from childhood into early adulthood. 52 participants from a community sample completed all three waves of the ‘Adolescent Brain Development’ study (T1x̄Age:11.69, T2x̄Age:15.80 T3x̄Age:18.80). At each phases, participants completed a clinical interview assessing PEs, mental disorder and global function. Fixed-effects repeated measures models, adjusting for mental disorder and gender were used to investigate differences in current (C-GAF) and most sever past (MSP-GAF) global functioning between those with and without childhood PEs. The analyses revealed that those with history of PEs had significantly poorer C-GAF scores (p<.001) and MSP-GAF scores (p<.001) than controls. Simple-effects analysis indicated that poorer functioning was evident during childhood (C-GAF: p=.002; and MSP-GAF: p<.001), adolescence (C-GAF: p<.001; and MSP-GAF: p=.011) and early adulthood (C-GAF: p=.002; and MSP-GAF: p=.095). There was no significant effect of time or interaction. The results demonstrate that children who report PEs have persistently poorer functioning and this is evident up to at-least early adulthood. The long-term association between childhood PEs and global functioning highlights the underlying global ‘vulnerability’ in children reporting PEs which extends beyond diagnosable mental disorder. Children who report PEs should be monitored closely throughout adolescence and young adulthood.
