Peer-reviewed article
The association between transient childhood psychotic experiences and psychosocial outcomes in young adulthood: examining the role of mental disorder and attachment
Staines L, Healy C, Cotter D, Kelleher I, Cannon M ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study followed 103 children from age 11-13 into young adulthood to examine how childhood psychotic experiences affect adult well-being. Children who experienced psychotic episodes had lower self-esteem and less social support from friends as adults, especially when they also had mental disorders. The quality of a person's early attachment relationships—how secure or anxious they felt with caregivers—seemed to reduce some of these negative effects.
Key points
- Childhood psychotic experiences were associated with lower self-esteem and lower perceived social support from friends in young adulthood
- The combination of psychotic experiences and mental disorder led to more pronounced reductions in self-esteem, plus increased stress in relationships and daily life, and greater mental distress
- Childhood mental disorder alone (without psychotic experiences) was not significantly associated with adult psychosocial outcomes
- Attachment anxiety and avoidance dimensions significantly reduced the relationship between childhood psychotic experiences and adult self-esteem
- The effects of childhood psychotic experiences on adult outcomes appeared independent of co-occurring mental disorders
Limitations
The study does not explain why mental disorder alone showed no significant association with adult outcomes, which seems counterintuitive. The sample size is modest (103 participants) and countries are not specified, limiting generalisability.
Abstract
Introduction Psychotic experiences (PE) occur most often in childhood, at the same age many mental disorders (MD) develop. There is growing evidence that those who report PE and MD show poorer health outcomes. If this occurs in psychosocial outcomes e.g. self-esteem, stress, mental distress, or social support, is under examined. Attachment anxiety and avoidance are the dimensions of attachment, which is hypothesized to develop in infancy as a mechanism for interpersonal relationships in times of need. Objectives To examine the role of transient childhood PE in adult psychosocial outcomes, in those with and without MD. Additionally, to examine if the dimensions of attachment attenuate this model. Methods One hundred and three participants attended baseline (age 11 – 13) and 10-year follow-up. PE and MD were collected using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-aged Children, Present & Lifetime Version. Attachment and outcomes were collected using self-report measures. Analysis compared those with PE, MD and PE and MD, to healthy controls. Results PE in childhood was associated with lower self-esteem and lower perceived social support from friends. Lower self-esteem in adulthood was more pronounced in those reporting PE and MD, and was additionally associated with stress in relationships, daily life, and mental distress. Childhood MD without PE was not significantly associated with any psychosocial outcomes. Attachment dimensions significantly attenuated the relationship between PE and self-esteem. Conclusions This paper illustrates the significant association of childhood PE on adult outcomes, independent of the effect of co-occurring MD, and demonstrate attachment dimensions role in this model. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- None—this is an observational longitudinal study examining natural associations, not testing an intervention
- Population
- 103 children aged 11-13 at baseline, followed to young adulthood (approximately 21-23 years old)
Key finding
Childhood psychotic experiences associated with lower adult self-esteem and lower perceived social support from friends