Peer-reported bullying, rejection and hallucinatory experiences in childhood

Symptoms mediate the relationship between childhood trauma and non-suicidal self-injury: A hospital-based study of adolescents with mood disorder

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma has a significant impact on the development of adolescents, which may lead to interpersonal and psychological problems. Determining the incidence and consequences of childhood trauma in psychiatric clinical practice is of great significance.

METHODS

A survey was conducted among adolescents with mood disorders. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Adolescent Non-Suicidal-Self-Injury Behavior Function Assessment Scale (ANBFAS) and a series of psychological scales were filled face to face. Path analysis was used to examine the causation structure of childhood trauma-related symptoms.

RESULTS

A total of 117 participants (74.5%) had experienced at least one type of trauma. Interpersonal and psychological features of adolescent patients with childhood trauma were detailed in this study. The path analysis model showed that the relationships between childhood trauma and NSSI were mediated by depressive symptoms and thinking disorders, respectively, whereas depressive symptoms individually mediated the correlation between childhood trauma and sleep disturbances in adolescent patients with psychiatric disorders (χ2 /df = 1.23).

CONCLUSION

For adolescent patients with childhood trauma, psychological counseling for interpersonal relationships should start with families and peers. It is important to treat their depressive symptoms and thinking disorders and alleviate NSSI behavior and sleep disorders.

The relationship between internet addiction and peer bullying level of sixth and seventh grade secondary school students

PROBLEM

The research aimed to determine the relationship between internet addiction and peer bullying in sixth and seventh-grade students.

METHOD

The population of the study consisted of students in the sixth and seventh grades of secondary schools in a province in eastern Turkey. The data were collected throughout the 2021-2022 academic year from 1201 sixth and seventh graders who voluntered to participate in the research. The data were collected using the Bullying Scale and the Internet Addiction Scale for Adolescents (IAA).

FINDING

It was determined that gender, grade level, status of having a mobile phone, and age influenced children's participation in peer bullying. Also, variables of gender, grade level, and status of having a mobile phone affected internet addiction levels. Furthermore, when the correlation between the two scales was analyzed, a strong positive correlation was determined.

CONCLUSIONS

In line with the findings of this study, interventions that may lower levels of bullying include delivering training on bullying and internet addiction to families, encouraging children to participate in activities that would reduce the amount of time they spend on the internet, and investigating the reasons for bullying.

The Critical Roles of Early Development, Stress, and Environment in the Course of Psychosis

Psychotic disorders are highly debilitating with poor prognoses and courses of chronic illness. In recent decades, conceptual models have shaped understanding, informed treatment, and guided research questions. However, these models have classically focused on the adolescent and early adulthood stages immediately preceding onset while conceptualizing early infancy through all of childhood as a unitary premorbid period. In addition, models have paid limited attention to differential effects of types of stress; contextual factors such as local, regional, and country-level characteristics or sociocultural contexts; and the timing of the stressor or environmental risk. This review discusses emerging research suggesting that (a) considering effects specific to neurodevelopmental stages prior to adolescence is highly informative, (b) understanding specific stressors and levels of environmental exposures (i.e., systemic or contextual features) is necessary, and (c) exploring the dynamic interplay between development, levels and types of stressors, and environments can shed new light, informing a specified neurodevelopmental and multifaceted diathesis-stress model.

Hallucinations and Brain Morphology Across Early Adolescence: A Longitudinal Neuroimaging Study

BACKGROUND

Psychotic disorders have been widely associated with structural brain abnormalities. However, it is unclear whether brain structure predicts psychotic experiences in youth from the general population, owing to an overall paucity of studies and predominantly cross-sectional designs. Here, the authors investigated longitudinal associations between brain morphology and hallucinations from childhood to early adolescence.

METHODS

This study was embedded in the population-based Generation R Study. Children underwent structural neuroimaging at age 10 years (N = 2042); a subsample received a second scan at age 14 years (n = 964). Hallucinations were assessed at ages 10 and 14 years and studied as a binary variable. Cross-lagged panel models and generalized linear mixed-effects models were fitted to examine longitudinal associations between brain morphology and hallucinations.

RESULTS

Smaller total gray and white matter volumes and total cortical surface area at baseline were associated with a higher occurrence of hallucinations between ages 10 and 14 years. The regions associated with hallucinations were widespread, including the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, as well as the insula and cingulate cortex. Analyses of subcortical structures revealed that smaller baseline hippocampal volumes were longitudinally associated with hallucinations, although this association was no longer significant following adjustment for intracranial volume. No evidence for reverse temporality was observed (i.e., hallucinations predicting brain differences).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from this longitudinal study suggest that global structural brain differences are associated with the development of hallucinations. These results extend findings from clinical populations and provide evidence for a neurodevelopmental vulnerability across the psychosis continuum.

Bullying in clinical high risk for psychosis participants from the NAPLS-3 cohort

PURPOSE

Bullying is associated with a heightened risk for poor outcomes, including psychosis. This study aimed to replicate previous findings on bullying prevalence in clinical high-risk (CHR) individuals, to assess the longitudinal course of clinical and functional variables between bullied and non-bullied CHR and the association of bullying with premorbid functioning, clinical outcome, transition to psychosis and risk of violence.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 691 CHR participants and 96 healthy controls. Participants reported whether they had experienced bullying and how long it had lasted. Assessments included DSM-5 diagnoses, attenuated psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms, social and role functioning, depression, stress, premorbid functioning, and risk of violence. The bullied and non-bullied CHR groups were compared at baseline and further longitudinally on clinical and functioning variables and transition to psychosis.

RESULTS

Bullying was more prevalent among CHR individuals than healthy controls. Bullied CHR had a higher prevalence of PTSD and more severe depression and stress at baseline than non-bullied CHR. There was no impact of bullying on clinical and functional variables over time. Bullying was not related to final clinical status or transition to psychosis. However, bullied participants had poorer premorbid functioning and a greater risk of violence.

CONCLUSION

While bullying may not impact the likelihood of CHR individuals to transition to psychosis, it may be a risk factor for development of the at-risk state and may be related to a greater risk of violence. Future studies should consider bullying perpetration among CHR individuals.