Citation

DeVylder JE, Kelleher I, Oh H, Link BG, Yang LH, Koyanagi A. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 2018; 138(1): 44-54.

Affiliation

Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM, Madrid, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/acps.12889

PMID

29682735

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Criminal victimization has been associated with elevated risk for psychotic symptoms in the United Kingdom, but has not been studied in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding whether crime exposure may play a role in the social etiology of psychosis could help guide prevention and intervention efforts.

METHOD: We tested the hypothesis that criminal victimization would be associated with elevated odds of psychotic experiences in 35 LMICs (N = 146 999) using cross-sectional data from the World Health Organization World Health Survey. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between criminal victimization and psychotic experiences.

RESULTS: Victimization was associated with greater odds of psychotic experiences, OR (95% CI) = 1.72 (1.50-1.98), and was significantly more strongly associated with psychotic experiences in non-urban, OR (95% CI) = 1.93 (1.60-2.33), compared to urban settings, OR (95% CI) = 1.48 (1.21-1.81). The association between victimization and psychosis did not change across countries with varying aggregated levels of criminal victimization.

CONCLUSIONS: In the largest ever study of victimization and psychosis, the association between criminal victimization and psychosis appears to generalize across a range of LMICs and, therefore, across nations with a broad range of crime rates, degree of urban development, average per capita income, and racial/ethnic make-up.

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

crime; crime victims; epidemiology; psychotic disorders; violence