For Children, Switching Schools Often Leads to Psychotic Symptoms

Children who frequently move schools during childhood may increase the risk of developing psychotic symptoms later in life, a new study shows.

In research recently published in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, scientists at Warwick Medical School showed that school mobility during an individual's childhood years "heightens the risk of developing psychotic-like symptoms in early adolescence by up to 60 percent," according to a press release announcing the findings.

Developing these symptoms during early adolescence is strongly correlated with mental health problems in adulthood, including psychotic disorders and suicide.

Professor Swaran Singh, who led the study, 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."

Researchers interviewed participants in the study at the age of 12 to determine the presence of psychotic-like symptoms. These include any hallucinations, delusions ad thought interference in the previous six months. For students that had switched schools three or more times, the likelyhood of displaying at least one psychotic symptom was 60 percent greater compared to students who hadn't moved.

While reasons for these symptoms could stem from many factors, the authors of the study suggested that moving schools may lead to low self-esteem and a "sense of social defeat." Being excluded from other classmates could lead to a sensitization of the "mesolimbic dopamine system," which would heighten the risk of psychotic symptoms.

Cath Winsper, a senior research fellow at Warwick Medical School and part of the study group said, "It's clear that we need to keep school mobility in mind when clinically assessing young people with psychotic disorders. It should be explored as a matter of course as the impact can be both serious and potentially long lasting. Schools should develop strategies to help these students to establish themselves in their new environment."