Interrelationships Among Childhood Trauma, Insecure Attachment, Dissociation, Negative Schemas and Psychosis Symptoms: A Network Analysis.

Background: Childhood trauma is associated with increased rates of psychosis, with research identifying insecure attachment, dissociation and negative schemas as mediating factors. Network analysis offers a framework to explore complex interrelationships between symptoms and vulnerability factors. T...

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Publicado en:Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy Vol. 32; no. 6; pp. 1 - 14
Autores principales: Levi, David, Pierce, Mathias, Baird, Alison, Berry, Katherine
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Nov/Dec2025
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov/Dec2025
      vid: 32
      iid: 6
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1002/cpp.70187
        190405516
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        atl: Interrelationships Among Childhood Trauma, Insecure Attachment, Dissociation, Negative Schemas and Psychosis Symptoms: A Network Analysis.
      aug:
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          Levi, David
          Pierce, Mathias
          Baird, Alison
          Berry, Katherine
        affil: School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
      sug:
        subj:
          Child Abuse Psychosocial Factors
          Attachment Behavior Evaluation
          Psychotic Disorders Symptoms
          Dissociative Disorders
          Funding Source
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Adolescence
          Adult
          Descriptive Statistics
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Self Report
          Scales
          Data Analysis Software
          Questionnaires
          Depression
          Anxiety
          Hallucinations
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Emotions
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background: Childhood trauma is associated with increased rates of psychosis, with research identifying insecure attachment, dissociation and negative schemas as mediating factors. Network analysis offers a framework to explore complex interrelationships between symptoms and vulnerability factors. This study used network analysis to examine connections between experiences of childhood trauma, insecure attachment, dissociation, negative schemas and positive and negative psychosis symptoms. The study aims were to identify central, strongly connected variables and to compare network structures between subgroups with (n = 259) and without (n = 350) a self‐reported psychosis diagnosis. Methods: Cross‐sectional, self‐report data from an online survey sample (N = 609) were analysed. The sample was predominantly male (72.5%), White British/Other (80.1%), with a mean age of 28.70. The psychosis diagnosis sample contained more females (30.1%) than the sample without a psychosis diagnosis (21.1%). The psychosis diagnosis sample was also older, with a mean age of 32.93 compared with the no psychosis diagnosis sample (25.56). Pairwise Markov random field (PMRF) networks and strength centrality indices were used to identify central variables, while a network comparison test (NCT) evaluated structural differences between subgroups. Results: Bizarre experiences showed strong connectivity with other positive symptoms. Negative‐self schemas and paranoia demonstrated strong cross‐construct connectivity, forming a cluster with negative‐other schemas, avolition and insecure attachment. Depersonalisation–derealisation was strongly connected to hallucinations. The NCT revealed no significant structural differences between subgroups. Conclusions: Targeting negative‐self schemas and paranoia may yield the most substantial reductions in cross‐construct network connectivity and are indicated for treatment prioritisation. Interventions targeting detachment‐related dissociation may help reduce hallucinations. Longitudinal studies are needed to replicate these findings and explore causal pathways within network structures. Summary: Paranoia and avolition symptoms were implicated in a cluster of strong, potentially reinforcing associations with anxious attachment and negative‐self and other schemas. Interventions that weaken these links (e.g., reducing threat‐based thinking and safety behaviours such as avoiding social contact) may yield greater clinical gains than addressing these symptoms in isolation.Detachment‐type dissociation appears central to hallucinations. Techniques such as grounding, distress tolerance and mindfulness may help clients predict, control and reduce dissociative episodes, thereby reducing hallucinatory experiences.Use of multidimensional measures of psychological processes linked to psychosis symptoms (e.g., schema and insecure attachment subtypes and dissociation domains) provide richer information for formulations that can help identify and target reinforcing psychopathology more effectively.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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