V1Adults meaningfully relate childhood trauma to later hallucinations.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
How do adult survivors meaningfully relate their childhood trauma to later hallucinatory experiences?
IRAS ID
326761
Contact name
Elizabeth Lewis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Coventry University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 6 months, 29 days
Research summary
The aim of this qualitative study is to gain a better understanding of the various ways in which adult survivors meaningfully relate (make connections between) traumatic events from their childhood and later hallucinatory experiences (of any modality).
Hallucinations can be defined as hearing, seeing, feeling, smelling or tasting things that other people cannot (NHS 2023). Previous research exploring links between different modalities of hallucination and trauma have emphasized the link between trauma and different senses, therefore the current research will be exploring all modalities of hallucination (Shelvin et al 2007). This will also expand on existing papers, which explore trauma and auditory hallucinations only (McCarthy-Jones 2011; Beck & Van Der Kolk 1987; Schreier et al 2009). Although there is previous research demonstrating the correlation between traumatic childhood experiences and later hallucinations (Longden et al 2021), very little is currently known about the qualitative nature of this relationship and the meaning made by those who have these experiences.
This study will employ an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach, which will involve one semi-structured interview lasting approximately one hour and will recruit a purposive sample of participants (N=10) from Midlands NHS mental health (MH) trusts, satisfying the following inclusion criteria: currently supported by services for experiences of psychosis in adulthood; self-report being a survivor of childhood trauma; self-report experiencing hallucinations; self-report finding meaning in their hallucinatory experiences, at least in part, in terms of their childhood trauma; are prepared to talk about the content, meaning and influence of these connected experiences.
It is anticipated that the findings will help mental health practitioners make sense of the role childhood trauma may play in experiences of psychosis. This will increase our knowledge in the field of clinical psychology, with the potential to lead to the development of more targeted forms of therapeutic intervention.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NW/0222
Date of REC Opinion
11 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion