The scars of modern slavery: trafficked people with severe mental illness

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Yesterday was #AntiSlaveryDay, so today we are publishing a blog by Mina Fazel who considers the findings of an historical cohort study in the Lancet Psychiatry, which explores the characteristics of trafficked people with severe mental illness.

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Childhood adversity and psychotic symptoms: how much can a growing evidence-base tell us?

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Stephen Wood ponders the reliability of a recent systematic review and meta-analysis, which suggests that childhood adversity is significantly linked to an elevated risk of psychotic symptom persistence.

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Childhood adversity linked to psychotropic drug use in later life

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Andrew Jones summarises a large Finnish population-based cohort study, which finds that childhood adversities strongly predict the use of psychotropic drugs (such as antidepressants and antipsychotics) in adulthood.

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Childhood abuse and adverse life events interact synergistically to produce a high risk for psychotic experiences

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This recent study concludes that childhood abuse creates an enduring vulnerability to psychosis that is realised in the event of exposure to further stressors and risk factors, such as separation, bereavement, or being involved in an accident or physical attack.

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Kinship care may be a viable out-of-home placement option for maltreated children, but more research is needed

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Lisa Burscheidt reports on a recent Cochrane review that looks at the effects of kinship care versus traditional foster care for the safety, permanency and well-being of children removed from the home for maltreatment.

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Approximately 1 in 6 children develop PTSD after trauma exposure

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How many children develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after a traumatic experience such as an assault, a car crash, war or disaster? William Yule, one of the godfathers of child traumatic stress research, once pointed out that rates reported in separate studies varied from 0 to 100%. So what is on average the rate [read the full story…]

Trauma exposure is pervasive among US youths

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The media is filled with stories about traumatised children and adolescents, such as the school shootings at Sandy Hook and Columbine. However, a range of more common traumatic events, such as accidents and caregiver maltreatment, receive less attention. We sought to understand how common traumatic experiences are in the lives of U.S. youths by conducting a study examining trauma [read the full story…]

Review reiterates that certain features of dental neglect are clearly identifiable

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Sadly child mistreatment, including abuse and neglect are a reality in society.  In the UK, dental neglect has been defined as,  ‘‘the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic oral health needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of a child’s oral or general health and development’’.  The aim of this review was to identify [read the full story…]

Childhood trauma and abuse is the smoking of psychiatry

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Childhood trauma and abuse is the smoking of psychiatry. As a risk factor for mental illness it is comparable to how smoking a pack of cigarettes per day increases the risk of lung cancer and heart disease. As an adult psychiatrist I see the consequences of poor starts to life and do my best to [read the full story…]

Neglect may be as harmful as physical and emotional abuse, according to new systematic review

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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), somewhere between 25 and 50% of people may have been physically abused at some point during their childhood, an experience defined as the use of physical force that harms the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity. Childhood maltreatment does not stop at physical abuse, however – children may [read the full story…]