The Experience of Childhood Trauma and Its Influence on the Course of Illness in First-Episode Psychosis: A Qualitative Study
Abstract
Persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders often report high levels of childhood trauma, which often exacerbates symptoms and impede the process of recovery. However, little is known about how these traumas are experienced by service users and how they are integrated in their life stories. To examine this, we conducted in-depth interviews with 15 service users with a diagnosis of a first-episode nonaffective psychosis who had reported 1 or more childhood traumas in self-report measures. There was an unexpected discrepancy between the number of traumas reported in self-report measures and in semistructured interviews, and many of the traumas did not seem integrated in their personal narratives. The analyses further revealed that although participants often described complicated and traumatic childhood environments, they still felt supported by their families; they reported a range of ways in which they tried to cope with and gain control of their psychotic disorder, and they described a general optimistic view of the future.
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In that study, participants reported high levels of traumatic childhood experiences in a questionnaire but rarely mentioned or integrated them in their personal narratives.
“In this study, the authors found that participants reported high levels of traumatic childhood experiences in a questionnaire, but rarely mentioned, let alone integrated them in their personal narratives (52).”
From Making meaning of trauma in psychosis (2023) · cites this paper as [52]
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- Authors
- Jansen, J. E., Pedersen, M. B., Trauelsen, A. M., Lyse Nielsen, H.-G., Haahr, U. H., & Simonsen, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Venue
- Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease
- Published
- 2016-03
- Volume
- 204
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 210-216
- ISSN
- 0022-3018 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2404101528
- Cited by
- 23
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 1.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Region Sjælland
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- childhood trauma, first-episode psychosis, non-affective psychosis, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, clinical course, life stories, service user experiences, family support, coping strategies, optimism
- MeSH terms
- Psychological Trauma, Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Psychotic Disorders, Social Support, Qualitative Research, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, Young Adult, Personal Narratives as Topic
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