Early Childhood Trauma and Schizophrenia Risk Among First-Generation Migrants: A Multidimensional Review
Nandipha Ndenda
03/09/2026
This paper examines the contribution of early childhood trauma to schizophrenia risk among first-generation migrants through an integrative review from meta-analyses, epidemiological studies, neurobiological research, and theoretical frameworks. Meta analytic findings indicate that childhood maltreatment is associated with a two- to threefold increase in the risk of psychosis, while migrant populations are additionally exposed to pre- and post-migration stressors such as discrimination, acculturative stress, and social exclusion.
These experiences may interact with genetic vulnerability within a stress-vulnerability framework, contributing to elevated rates of psychotic disorders observed in several migrant groups.
Moreover, neurobiological evidence links chronic stress and trauma exposure to dysregulation of stress-response systems and structural changes in brain regions involved in emotion regulation and cognition.
However, risk is not uniform across groups and varies across populations due to socioeconomic conditions, cultural variation in symptom expression, and methodological limitations within psychiatric research. Overall, schizophrenia risk among first-generation migrants appears to result from cumulative and interacting biological, environmental, and structural factors rather than migration alone.