Psychological medicine
August 8, 2025
Giulia Trotta, Edoardo Spinazzola, Hannah Degen et al.
4 citations
Childhood trauma, especially emotional and physical abuse, is strongly linked to paranoia, and cannabis use amplifies that effect. In a survey of 4,736 adults, those who experienced childhood trauma reported higher paranoia, and weekly cannabis use—measured in standard THC units—also predicted greater paranoia. Cannabis use partially mediated the link between trauma and paranoia, though trauma itself had a much larger direct effect. The findings suggest that assessing both trauma history and cannabis exposure in standard THC units could improve risk detection and guide interventions for people with childhood trauma.
Psychological Medicine
May 4, 2023
G. Trotta, Victoria Rodriguez, D. Quattrone et al.
Childhood adversity and cannabis use are both known risk factors for psychosis. This study examined whether cannabis use might explain the link between childhood adversity and psychotic disorders. Data from 881 first-episode psychosis patients and 1231 controls from the EU-GEI study showed that household discord was associated with psychosis partly through cannabis use. Lifetime cannabis use mediated 17% of the association, cannabis potency mediated 14%, and frequency of use mediated 29%. Similar results appeared for early exposure to household discord. The findings suggest that harmful cannabis use patterns partially explain how household discord leads to psychosis, and children exposed to challenging home environments could benefit from interventions to prevent cannabis misuse.
Translational Psychiatry
August 10, 2021
D. Quattrone, U. Reininghaus, A. Richards et al.
Genetic risk for schizophrenia and cannabis use each contribute to specific symptom patterns across psychotic disorders, not just diagnostic categories. Among 617 first-episode psychosis patients, higher schizophrenia polygenic risk scores were linked to more severe negative and positive symptoms, regardless of diagnosis. In 979 controls, the same genetic risk was associated with all dimensions of psychotic experiences. Daily or current cannabis use was tied to more positive symptoms in both patients and controls, beyond the effect of genetic risk. The findings support a dimensional view of psychosis, where genetic liability relates to symptom severity and cannabis use specifically increases positive symptoms.