Psychotic-like experiences at 10 years and their longitudinal predictors in a birth cohort study

Abstract Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) refer to subclinical unreal or odd experiences and thoughts, such as hearing things that are not real. Children's PLEs are seen as markers of lowered wellbeing and accumulated risk factors and are known to predict mental disorders. There are indications that parental mental health can predict offspring PLEs. In the longitudinal Child Sleep cohort, 727 children from the general population responded to three PLE items at 10 years. Longitudinal data was available for 311 children, starting from the prenatal phase. Predictors of PLEs were assessed during the children's lifespan, including children's developmental ratings at two and five years, as well as maternal and paternal wellbeing at different time points from pregnancy onwards (parental depression, anxiety, stress, and alcohol disorder symptoms). According to preliminary results, 17 % of the children reported having experienced PLEs weekly or more often. 8% reported hearing things other people can't hear, like voices of people whispering or talking, at least weekly, and 6% seeing things or people that others cannot see (hallucinatory-like experiences). Feeling being followed or spied upon (delusional-like experiences) were most common, 12% reporting weekly experiences. The intensity of experiencing PLEs was cross-sectionally linked to concurrent self-reported depressive and anxiety symptoms. Mother's prenatal depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale) correlated with child's PLEs. In addition, the PLE factor correlated with five-year ratings of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire hyperactivity and conduct problem subscales and Five-to-Fifteen questionnaire executive functions subscale. PLEs are common in 10-year-old children. Maternal depressive symptoms during the pregnancy as well as parental ratings of hyperactivity, conduct problems, and problems in executive functioning at five years predicted PLEs at ten years. Key messages • Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) were quite frequently reported in ten-year-old children and can be seen as unspecific markers of distress. • Children’s PLEs were preceded by maternal depression during pregnancy and children’s developmental symptoms at five years, highlighting the nature of PLEs as accumulated risk markers.