TY - JOUR PY - 2018// TI - Criminal victimization and psychotic experiences: cross-sectional associations in 35 low- and middle-income countries JO - Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica A1 - DeVylder, J. E. A1 - Kelleher, I. A1 - Oh, H. A1 - Link, B. G. A1 - Yang, L. H. A1 - Koyanagi, A. SP - 44 EP - 54 VL - 138 IS - 1 N2 - 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

LA - en SN - 0001-690X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acps.12889 ID - ref1 ER -