Life in the big city has a negative impact not only on the state of our lungs, but also on the psyche. A new study by scientists from Duke University and king’s College London has shown as high crime rates and weak social connections between neighbours affect the development of psychotic symptoms in children.
To find out how place of residence affects the psyche of children, researchers interviewed more than 2 thousand twins at the age of 12. They also conducted in-depth interviews with mothers of young participants, and made maps of the areas where the family lived.
It turned out that the prevalence of psychotic symptoms in urban children is two times higher than their peers living in smaller settlements. About 7.4% of children from urban areas to 12 years are faced with paranoid thoughts, visual and sound hallucinations, obsessive fears, and other disorders.
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According to the study, the worst part was the mental health of children affected by weak social ties between the residents of the area and high crime rate. Also significant factors included low livability of the area (vandalism) and the presence of relatives ever been victims of crimes.
Although the number of children with psychotic symptoms is small, scientists still intend to find out, they razvivayutsya in the future in mental disorders.