In the eye of the beholder: Perceptions of neighborhood adversity and psychotic experiences in adolescence.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Adolescent psychotic experiences increase risk for schizophrenia and other severe psychopathology in adulthood. Converging evidence implicates urban and adverse neighborhood conditions in the etiology of adolescent psychotic experiences, but the role of young people's personal perceptions of disorder (i.e., physical and social signs of threat) in their neighborhood is unknown. This was examined using data from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative birth cohort of 2,232 British twins. Participants were interviewed at age 18 about psychotic phenomena and perceptions of disorder in the neighborhood. Multilevel, longitudinal, and genetically sensitive analyses investigated the association between perceptions of neighborhood disorder and adolescent psychotic experiences. Adolescents who perceived higher levels of neighborhood disorder were significantly more likely to have psychotic experiences, even after accounting for objectively/independently measured levels of crime and disorder, neighborhood- and family-level socioeconomic status, family psychiatric history, adolescent substance and mood problems, and childhood psychotic symptoms: odds ratio = 1.62, 95% confidence interval [1.27, 2.05], p < .001. The phenotypic overlap between adolescent psychotic experiences and perceptions of neighborhood disorder was explained by overlapping common environmental influences, rC = .88, 95% confidence interval [0.26, 1.00]. Findings suggest that early psychological interventions to prevent adolescent psychotic experiences should explore the role of young people's (potentially modifiable) perceptions of threatening neighborhood conditions.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Newbury, JB; Arseneault, L; Caspi, A; Moffitt, TE; Odgers, CL; Baldwin, JR; Zavos, HMS; Fisher, HL
Published Date
- December 2017
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 29 / 5
Start / End Page
- 1823 - 1837
PubMed ID
- 29162184
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC5912687
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1469-2198
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0954-5794
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1017/s0954579417001420
Language
- eng