ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors set out alternative proposal suggesting that disorganised attachment specifically, and the predisposition to dissociate, are closely and meaningfully related phenomena, and that their combined action can, in some individuals, lead to heightened vulnerability to developing psychosis. They provide an overview of empirical studies of the relationship between dissociation and symptoms of psychosis, focusing in particular on voice hearing, as this phenomenon has been most frequently linked to heightened dissociation. In the author’s recent systematic review and meta-analysis of all cross-sectional studies, they found evidence of a robust association between dissociation and voice-hearing not only in individuals with psychosis, but also in studies with non-clinical samples and those who received other psychiatric diagnoses. In a recent study by the author’s research group, they found that dissociation was a robust mediator of the impact of childhood interpersonal trauma on paranoia, even when controlling for the co-variation between voices and paranoia.
