Prenatal Cannabis Exposure Linked to Hallucinatory Experiences in Children
Among 11,854 children in the ABCD Study, those with prenatal cannabis exposure had 58% higher odds of hallucinatory-like psychotic experiences, with different risk factors associated with different symptom clusters.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Three distressing PLE subgroups were identified: hallucinatory-like, paranoid-like, and multiple domains. Prenatal cannabis exposure specifically predicted hallucinatory-like PLEs (OR = 1.578), while schizophrenia genetic risk predicted paranoid-like PLEs. All groups showed associations with childhood adversity and poor school environments.
Key Numbers
11,854 children. 3,155 with at least one distressing PLE. Three clusters: hallucinatory-like (n=1,110), paranoid-like (n=1,229), multiple domains (n=816). Prenatal cannabis: OR = 1.578 (95% CI: 1.231-2.023) for hallucinatory-like PLEs.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional analysis of 11,854 children from the ABCD Study v5.1, using K-medoid clustering of psychotic-like experiences and multinomial models examining genetic and environmental risk factors.
Why This Research Matters
This study suggests prenatal cannabis exposure may specifically affect certain types of psychotic experiences in children, potentially through distinct neurodevelopmental pathways that differ from genetic predisposition.
The Bigger Picture
The ABCD Study is the largest long-term study of brain development in children. Finding that prenatal cannabis exposure predicts a specific subtype of psychotic experiences adds important nuance to the growing literature on prenatal cannabis effects.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional analysis of one time point. Prenatal cannabis exposure is retrospectively reported and may be inaccurate. PLEs are self-reported by children. Cannot establish causation.
Questions This Raises
- ?Does prenatal cannabis exposure affect specific brain circuits involved in hallucination-like perceptions?
- ?Will these children go on to develop clinical psychotic disorders at higher rates?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Evidence Grade:
- Large national sample with sophisticated clustering analysis, but cross-sectional design and retrospectively reported prenatal exposure limit causal inference.
- Study Age:
- Recent analysis from the ongoing ABCD Study, the largest US study of children's brain development.
- Original Title:
- Cluster profiles of distressing psychotic-like experiences among children and associations with genetic risk, prenatal cannabis exposure, and social-environmental characteristics.
- Published In:
- Schizophrenia research, 278, 119-127 (2025)
- Authors:
- Yuan, Qingyue, Chen, Yinxian, Xu, Ying, Dimitrov, Lina V, Risk, Benjamin B, Walker, Elaine F, Huels, Anke, Ku, Benson S
- Database ID:
- RTHC-08016
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Can prenatal cannabis exposure cause psychosis in children?
This study found a 58% increased odds of hallucinatory-like experiences, but PLEs are common in children and usually don't lead to psychotic disorders. The association is concerning but doesn't prove causation.
What are psychotic-like experiences in children?
PLEs include things like hearing voices or having paranoid thoughts. They're relatively common in childhood and usually transient, but distressing PLEs can indicate higher risk for later psychiatric conditions.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-08016APA
Yuan, Qingyue; Chen, Yinxian; Xu, Ying; Dimitrov, Lina V; Risk, Benjamin B; Walker, Elaine F; Huels, Anke; Ku, Benson S. (2025). Cluster profiles of distressing psychotic-like experiences among children and associations with genetic risk, prenatal cannabis exposure, and social-environmental characteristics.. Schizophrenia research, 278, 119-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2025.03.034
MLA
Yuan, Qingyue, et al. "Cluster profiles of distressing psychotic-like experiences among children and associations with genetic risk, prenatal cannabis exposure, and social-environmental characteristics.." Schizophrenia research, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2025.03.034
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cluster profiles of distressing psychotic-like experiences a..." RTHC-08016. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/yuan-2025-cluster-profiles-of-distressing
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.