Journal Article

FZJ-2025-05074

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png How childhood adversities shape minds and lives: An analysis across the affective-to-psychotic spectrum.

Greiner, S.-K. (Corresponding author) ; Pons, M. D. ; Ablimit, A. ; Brauße, E. ; Adorjan, K. ; Budde, M. ; Heilbronner, M. ; Heilbronner, U. ; Kalman, J. L. ; Navarro-Flores, A. ; Kohshour, M. O. ; Reich-Erkelenz, D. ; Schulte, E. C. ; Vogl, T. ; Andlauer, T. ; Anghelescu, I.-G. ; Arolt, V. ; Baune, B. T. ; Dannlowski, U. ; Degenhardt, F. ; Dietrich, D. E. ; Fallgatter, A. J. ; Figge, C. ; Forstner, A.FZJ* ; Jäger, M. ; Juckel, G. ; Konrad, C. ; Nöthen, M. M. ; Lang, F. U. ; Reimer, J. ; Reinighaus, E. Z. ; Rietschel, M. ; Schmauß, M. ; Schmitt, A. ; Senner, S. ; Spitzer, C. ; Wiltfang, J. ; Witt, S. H. ; Zimmermann, J. ; Hasan, A. ; Falkai, P. ; Schulze, T. G. ; Papiol, S. ; Senner, F.

2025
Elsevier Amsterdam

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116536  doi:10.34734/FZJ-2025-05074

Abstract: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) contribute significantly to mental disorders. While existing research has primarily focused on specific diagnostic categories, a comprehensive understanding of how childhood trauma interacts with biological factors, symptom severity and functioning requires a broader perspective. Therefore, this study adopted a cross-diagnostic approach to examine the impact of ACE on quality of life (QoL), psychosocial functioning, and symptom burden by analyzing data from the PsyCourse Study, a longitudinal, multicenter research project conducted in Germany and Austria. We used multivariate linear regression models and cluster analysis to evaluate data from 725 participants with affective and psychotic disorders and healthy controls who completed the self-assessed Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS) during the course of the study. The results showed that across diagnoses, QoL was significantly impacted by ACE, particularly emotional neglect. An ablation study revealed that 2.3 % to 6.2 % of the variability in QoL domains could be attributed to ACE. Across diagnoses, symptoms of depression were significantly associated with ACE, especially emotional abuse, but psychotic and manic symptoms were not. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) did not emerge as significant predictors for any examined outcomes. Cluster analysis revealed distinct symptom profiles: Averaged over time, patients with less trauma exposure were rather in the subclinical than in the clinically ill clusters. We conclude that the pervasive influence of ACE on disease severity should be considered when evaluating and treating patients with affective and psychotic disorders.

Keyword(s): Humans (MeSH) ; Male (MeSH) ; Female (MeSH) ; Adult (MeSH) ; Adverse Childhood Experiences: statistics & numerical data (MeSH) ; Quality of Life: psychology (MeSH) ; Psychotic Disorders: psychology (MeSH) ; Psychotic Disorders: etiology (MeSH) ; Psychotic Disorders: physiopathology (MeSH) ; Longitudinal Studies (MeSH) ; Middle Aged (MeSH) ; Germany (MeSH) ; Young Adult (MeSH) ; Austria (MeSH) ; Cluster Analysis (MeSH) ; Psychosocial Functioning (MeSH) ; Adolescent (MeSH) ; Child (MeSH) ; Adverse childhood experiences ; Affective disorders ; Global functioning ; Psychotic disorders ; Quality of life

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Strukturelle und funktionelle Organisation des Gehirns (INM-1)

Research Program(s):

1. 5251 - Multilevel Brain Organization and Variability (POF4-525) (POF4-525)

Appears in the scientific report 2025

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Database coverage:
; ; ; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; Current Contents - Social and Behavioral Sciences ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; IF < 5 ; IF >= 10 ; JCR ; Nationallizenz ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Social Sciences Citation Index ; Web of Science Core Collection

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