Childhood trauma and auditory verbal hallucinations
Abstract
Background: Hallucinations have consistently been associated with traumatic experiences during childhood. This association appears strongest between physical and sexual abuse and auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH). It remains unclear whether traumatic experiences mainly colour the content of AVH or whether childhood trauma triggers the vulnerability to experience hallucinations in general. In order to investigate the association between hallucinations, childhood trauma and the emotional content of hallucinations, experienced trauma and phenomenology of AVH were investigated in non-psychotic individuals and in patients with a psychotic disorder who hear voices. Method: A total of 127 non-psychotic individuals with frequent AVH, 124 healthy controls and 100 psychotic patients with AVH were assessed for childhood trauma. Prevalence of childhood trauma was compared between groups and the relation between characteristics of voices, especially emotional valence of content, and childhood trauma was investigated. Results: Both non-psychotic individuals with AVH and patients with a psychotic disorder and AVH experienced more sexual and emotional abuse compared with the healthy controls. No difference in the prevalence of traumatic experiences could be observed between the two groups experiencing AVH. In addition, no type of childhood trauma could distinguish between positive or negative emotional valence of the voices and associated distress. No correlations were found between sexual abuse and emotional abuse and other AVH characteristics. Conclusions: These results suggest that sexual and emotional trauma during childhood render a person more vulnerable to experience AVH in general, which can be either positive voices without associated distress or negative voices as part of a psychotic disorder.
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Childhood and interpersonal trauma have been consistently associated with the presence of voices and other anomalous experiences, irrespective of need for care.
“On the other hand, childhood and interpersonal trauma have been consistently associated with the presence of voices [34][35][36] and other anomalous experiences 18 , irrespective of need for care.”
From Clinical, socio‐demographic and psychological characteristics in individuals with persistent psychotic experiences with and without a “need for care” (2016) · cites this paper as [34]
An association between childhood trauma and the presence of persistent psychotic experiences replicates previous findings.
“An association between childhood trauma and the presence of PEs replicates previous findings 18,34,35”
From Clinical, socio‐demographic and psychological characteristics in individuals with persistent psychotic experiences with and without a “need for care” (2016) · cites this paper as [34]
Daalman et al. (2012) found that trauma was associated with voice-hearing per se, and not just voice-hearing involving negative emotional content.
“Furthermore, Daalman et al. (2012) found that trauma was associated with voice-hearing per se, and not just voice-hearing involving negative emotional content.”
From Is Shame Hallucinogenic? (2017) · cites this paper as Daalman et al., 2012
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- Authors
- Daalman, K., Diederen, K. M. J., Derks, E. M., van Lutterveld, R., Kahn, R. S., & Sommer, I. E. C.
- Affiliations
- University Medical Center Utrecht (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Daalman, K.
- Venue
- Psychological Medicine
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2012-04-16
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2475-2484
- ISSN
- 0033-2917 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8978
- OpenAlex
- W1968079380
- Cited by
- 153
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 6.05
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hallucinations in medical conditions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Keywords
- childhood trauma, auditory verbal hallucinations, voice hearing, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, psychosis
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Hallucinations, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Middle Aged, Netherlands, Personality Development, Psychotic Disorders, Risk Factors, Schizophrenia, Schizophrenic Psychology, Speech Perception, Statistics as Topic, Age of Onset, Young Adult
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