On Tuesday, the news section of beautiful Psych Central had a story on child abuse being a cause of schizophrenia. This is not a new belief since many people with the disorder have lives filled with trauma starting in the very early years, but it is a significantly different view than other theories that have been proposed such as genetic predisposition and the virus hypothesis (if pregnant woman contracted a virus in the second trimester of pregnancy the child is possibly more prone to develop schizophrenia). Like many mental disorders, I think it is likely a product of both (the diathesis stress model).

I’m hoping that as the biological era of psychology continues to progress, that the psychological problems linked to physical trauma in early development will become more clear, perhaps giving complete validation to the child abuse theory. And just as a footnote, it is somewhat politically incorrect to refer to someone as a “schizophrenic”; the more fitting term is “person with schizophrenia.” The former implies that the person is his/her illness.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 15 Jun 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.