The Mediating Role of Dissociative Symptoms and Early Maladaptive Schemas in the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia

BACKGROUND It is demonstrated that strong associations between trauma suffered in childhood and having schizophrenia, and more specifically to experience acoustic-verbal hallucinations (AVH). A second generation of research is currently examining the cognitive and affective processes likely to play a mediating role in this association. These mediators appear to include early maladaptive personality patterns and dissociative experiences. Although these factors have most often been explored separately, recent research indicates that they could be associated, and thus contribute to AVH. More specifically, another study has shown that the association between childhood trauma and predisposition to AVH is not direct but depends on cognitive factors including the impact of violence suffered during childhood on early maladaptive schemas and dissociation. However, this study was carried out on a non-clinical sample of subjects with a predisposition to AVH.

OBJECTIVES: testing a structural model of AVH, childhood trauma, early maladaptive schemas and dissociative symptoms in large multicentric sample of inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia and AVH (n=350). Secondary objectives are (i) test in the model the role of all the early patterns described by Jeffrey Young instead of targeting only the schemes that are part of the model tested in previous study as the one by Bortolon and colleagues, (ii) compare the quality of the adjustment of the confirmatory model to the quality of the adjustment of the exploratory model.

METHODS: one single visit in which subjects will receive self-reported questionnaires (Childhood trauma questionnaire, The Young schema questionnaire short form, Dissociative experiences scale, Launay-Slade hallucination scale and Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale.

ANALYSES: Structural equation model performed additional analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. The primary endpoint corresponds to significant associations between the variables. The quality of the model will be assessed using a fit quality measure. The secondary endpoints are significant associations between the different variables (p <0.05) and the model quality assessed with a quality measure of the fit.

MAIN HYPOTHESIS: the association between childhood trauma and predisposition to AVH is not direct, but depends on the impact of violence suffered during childhood on early maladaptive schemas and dissociative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.