Distinct trajectories of psychotic-like experiences and their associations with violent behavior among 3539 young adults: A 3-year prospective cohort study

Background

Violence perpetration may be linked to psychotic-like experiences (PLEs), but relevant research is limited, especially in general population. Therefore, we aimed to identify trajectories of PLEs and examine whether specific trajectories were related to violent behavior in a 3-year cohort study.

Methods

We developed a prospective cohort study and collected data in 2020 (T0), 2021 (T1), and 2022 (T2) in Guangzhou, China. A total of 3539 university students from two universities were included and completed self-report questionnaires to assess PLEs, violent ideation, violent threats, and violent acts. Socio-demographic and clinical factors were assessed and considered as confounding factors. We used growth mixture modeling to identify trajectories of PLEs. Associations between PLEs trajectories and violent behavior were examined using binary logistic regression.

Results

At T2, 162 (5.3 %) participants had violent behavior. We identified three distinct trajectories: low stable trajectory, low increasing trajectory, and high decreasing trajectory. The binary logistic regression models revealed that the high decreasing (OR: 2.46, 95%CI:1.60–3.72) group and the low increasing (OR: 11.7, 95%CI: 7.62–17.9) were associated with higher violent risk compared to the low stable group after controlling for baseline socio-demographic and clinical factors.

Conclusion

Our study delineated three distinct trajectories and indicated that PLEs trajectories are related to subsequent violent ideation and violent acts. The results provide crucial clarifications regarding the nature of the associations between PLEs trajectories and violence over time.