Medical school links frequent school changes with psychosis

Research by Warwick Medical School has revealed that changing schools frequently during childhood can increase the likelihood of psychotic symptoms during early adolescence.

The results concluded that children that moved school three or more times before the age of 12 were 60 percent more likely to display at least one psychotic symptom.

Psychotic symptoms include hallucinations, delusions and thought interference. They are strongly associated with the development of mental health problems in adulthood.

The research, which was led by Professor Swaran Singh, suggested that frequent school moves can lead to low self-esteem and sense of social defeat. Professor Singh explained: “Changing schools can be very stressful for students.

“Our study found that the process of moving schools may itself increase the risk of psychotic symptoms – independent of other factors. But additionally, being involved in bullying, sometimes as a consequence of repeated school moves, may exacerbate risk for the individual.”

Professor Singh decided to look into the impact of school mobility after noticing a link between psychotic symptoms and migrant populations.

He said that the next step for the study is to look at the same children between the ages of 16 – 18 when the symptoms are “onset.”

The publication of the research has been met with interest from fellow academics. However, Dr Craig Morgan, senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London asserted that it was important to keep in mind that 80 percent of the time, psychotic traits do not lead to psychosis.

The study was published in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The cohort used for the study was the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which began in 1991.