Evidence that the wider social environment moderates the association between familial liability and psychosis spectrum outcome

BACKGROUND

Familial liability to both severe and common mental disorder predicts psychotic disorder and psychotic symptoms, and may be used as a proxy in models examining interaction between genetic risk and the environment at individual and contextual levels.

METHOD

In a representative general population sample (n=4011) in Izmir, Turkey, the full spectrum of expression of psychosis representing (0) no symptoms, (1) subclinical psychotic experiences, (2) low-impact psychotic symptoms, (3) high-impact psychotic symptoms and (4) full-blown clinical psychotic disorder was assessed in relation to mental health problems in the family (proxy for familial liability) and the wider social environment. Quality of the wider social environment was assessed in an independent sample using contextual measures of informal social control, social disorganization, unemployment and low income, aggregated to the neighbourhood level.

RESULTS

The association between familial liability to severe mental illness and expression of psychosis spectrum was stronger in more deprived neighbourhoods [e.g. this association increased from β=0.33 (p=0.01) in low-unemployment neighbourhoods to β=0.92 (p<0.001) in high-unemployment neighbourhoods] and in neighbourhoods high in social control, while neighbourhood variables did not modify the association between familial liability to common mental disorder and the psychosis outcome. Neighbourhood variables mediated urbanicity effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Contextual effects may be important in moderating the expression of psychosis liability in populations, representing a specific pathway independent of the link between common mental disorder and psychosis.