B-95: Exploring Heterogeneity in Childhood Trauma and Cognition in Psychosis Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

Objective: Childhood trauma, as a risk factor for psychosis spectrum disorders, is commonly experienced by affected individuals and associated with cognitive dysfunction. The manner in which type of trauma impacts cognition remains unclear. The present study sought to investigate whether unique profiles of childhood trauma and cognition exist among individuals with psychosis spectrum disorders. Method/Data Selection: The sample included 177 participants diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, 124 participants diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features, 160 participants diagnosed with schizophrenia, and 195 demographically matched healthy comparisons recruited from the community. The sample consisted of males and females (52.5% female) who were middle-aged (Mean=36.95) and racially diverse (42.6% Caucasian/White, 40.2% African American/Black, 17.2% Other). Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) identified distinct subgroups based on cognition and childhood trauma using composite scores from the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia and five subscale scores from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Results/Data Synthesis: LPA indicated four profiles: Intact (None to minimal childhood trauma, average cognition, 6% of sample), Mild (Minimal to low childhood trauma, low average cognition, 71%), Moderate (Moderate to severe childhood trauma, borderline cognition, 12%), and Impaired (Severe childhood trauma, impaired cognition, 11%). The profiles were well separated with good discrimination between the profiles (Average Posterior Probability>0.70; Entropy=0.987). Conclusions: LPA indicated four profiles based on cognition and childhood trauma that were consistent with previous findings identifying distinct cognitive subgroups in psychosis. The majority of the sample were within a standard deviation of controls for cognition with minimal childhood trauma. The remaining groups had higher levels of trauma that may disrupt cognition in different ways.