Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders in a Cohort of Sexually Abused Children

CONTEXT The evidence for an association between child sexual abuse and subsequently developing psychotic disorders, including the schizophrenias, remains inconclusive. OBJECTIVE To explore whether child sexual abuse is a risk factor for later psychotic disorders. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Sample drawn from all notified cases of child sexual abuse over a 30-year period in Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS A cohort of 2759 individuals ascertained as having been sexually abused when younger than 16 years had their subsequent contacts with mental health services established by data linkage. They were compared with a community-based control group matched on sex and age groupings whose rates of disorder were established using identical methods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Rates of psychotic and schizophrenic illnesses. RESULTS Rates were significantly higher among child sexual abuse subjects compared with controls for psychosis in general (2.8% vs 1.4%; odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.4-3.1; P