An exploration into the role of developmental timing of adverse childhood experiences in psychotic-like experiences in adulthood

This review introduced psychotic-like experiences (PLE), adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and provided an overview of how ACEs have been defined and measured over time. The impact of the developmental timing of ACEs on PLEs is discussed and possible explanations of the mechanisms behind the role of timing are presented. A systematic review of 13 papers was conducted and quality assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist. A textual narrative review of results was presented. All findings were varied and did not indicate a pattern, where some studies found adversities in childhood more strongly associated, others found exposure to adversity in adolescence to be more likely to lead to PLEs. Limitations and future implications of the review were presented.