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Childhood sexual abuse and the development of schizophrenia

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Brandon Mental Health Unit, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr Trevor Friedman
Liaison Psychiatry, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Brandon Mental Health Unit, Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK; Trevor.Friedman@leicspart.nhs.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

There has been increasing awareness of the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and the psychological damage that this can cause. In recent years there have been many cases of alleged abuse within institutions that have led to litigation for compensation. One issue that has arisen in these cases and is of significance in clinical practice is whether CSA is a causative factor in the later development of schizophrenia or psychotic illnesses presenting with delusions and hallucinations.

In a recent case in Birmingham, UK,¹ involving a man in his thirties who was abused by a Catholic priest, the causation of schizophrenia was claimed to be the CSA that he had suffered. The judge stated: "The likelihood as it seems to be is the terrible abuse to which ‘A’ was subjected led to his both suffering post traumatic stress disorder and that disorder of the mind . . . [Full text of this article]