Sex Differences in Psychotic Symptoms: Understanding the Role of Psychosocial Influences

The present study explored gender differences in psychosis and the potential role of psychosocial variables in these differences. A sample of 51 men and women with psychosis completed a questionnaire about clinical variables (age of onset, age of first contact with services, age of first hospitalisation, number of hospitalisations, symptoms, and time taken until symptom disclosure), psychosocial variables (childhood trauma, coping responses with past adverse events, dissociative responses to past adverse events, abuse-related variables, relationship history, substance use, reactions to symptom disclosure and coping with symptoms) and causal explanations. The aims of the study were to explore sex differences in age of onset, symptoms and psychosocial variables in men and women with psychosis and explore the relevance of psychosocial variables to age of onset and symptomatology. Participants were recruited from first-episode psychosis teams, community mental health teams and Hearing Voices support groups within the Auckland region. Analyses of the total sample revealed significant associations between psychosocial variables and age of onset. Specifically, coping responses with past adverse events were found to predict age of symptom onset. The experience of childhood trauma, coping responses with past adverse events and aspects of substance use were found to relate to differing symptom types across the total sample. In their causal explanations of psychosis, participants tended to identify multiple factors relevant to the development of psychosis. Rather than differing explanations based on gender, there were many similarities in the explanatory models of men and women with psychosis. There were no significant gender differences in relation to age of onset and for many of the symptom types. Females were found to experience more negative symptoms than males. Some differences were present for some forms of childhood trauma, aspects of coping and substance use across genders. Data was also analysed separately for men and women. A major finding was that there was little similarity in terms of the psychosocial variables which were relevant for each sex. This suggests that differing pathways to symptom development and the experience of psychosis may exist for men and women. This study highlighted the relevance of psychosocial factors in psychosis, including the role of childhood trauma and the importance of adopting integrated bio-psycho-social approaches within both research and clinical domains.

Name thesis:degree_name

PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher

ResearchSpace@Auckland

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• O'Callaghan, Jennifer

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Barker-Collo, S

Statement dc:rights

• Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2292/21327

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/21327