Sex versus gender differences in childhood trauma and its associations with symptom profiles in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Abstract

Sex and gender differences in childhood trauma (CT) and its relationships with symptom profiles were examined in 77 patients with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders compared to 64 controls. In patients, but not in controls, we found independent associations of sex vs. gender with abuse vs. neglect. In patients, there were also sex and gender differences in age of onset and psychopathology. Sex-specific associations between CT and symptom profiles were also found. Our results indicated that the assessment of both sex and gender provides a more nuanced insight into CT associations with symptoms compared to sex in isolation.

Keywords

• Sex
• Gender
• Childhood trauma