UC San Diego

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with many symptoms of psychosis. However, little is known about the effect of PTSD on the attenuated symptoms of psychosis among youth at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate group differences in symptom severity, risk for conversion, and functioning among CHR youth with and without PTSD. Methods: This longitudinal study utilized data from the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study 3 (n = 703) to determine if the individual had a diagnosis of PTSD, the severity of attenuated symptoms, whether they converted to psychosis, and their functioning. Results: Individuals diagnosed with PTSD reported more severe overall positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and general symptoms, but not more severe disorganized symptoms. Additionally, these individuals reported worse global functioning. However, there were no group differences observed in those who converted to psychosis. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a diagnosis of PTSD impacts attenuated psychotic symptoms and functioning. This underscores the importance of recognizing PTSD as a baseline risk factor in the clinical trajectory of CHR individuals.