Psychology researchers have conducted many case studies and have spent countless hours reviewing existing case studies to try to find the answer to the question: Does childhood trauma cause and influence symptoms of patients with psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and psychosis, or trauma can cause a patient to develop schizophrenia or psychosis. The results of many case studies affirm that there is a link. Some studies state that only some symptoms are affected. I want to know what symptoms are affected and what kind of childhood trauma might have influenced the symptoms of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis, or whether childhood trauma might have caused a patient's mental illness. Dictionary.com defines schizophrenia as “a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following characteristics: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.” ("Schizophrenia"). Psychosis is defined in Dictionary.com as “a mental disorder characterized by symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, that indicate impaired contact with reality” (“Psychosis”). By writing this article, I hope to help healthcare professionals and doctors who work with distressed patient psychologists, along with family members living with a patient suffering from schizophrenia or psychosis. By identifying which symptoms are heightened, doctors can better treat their patients' symptoms to help reduce, or possibly cure, the symptom caused by the patient's childhood trauma. . Health care providers can better understand how to care for their patients with psychological disorders depending on each patient's history... middle of paper ......n Health and Illness: The Hidden Epidemic. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Network. February 19, 2012. Lysaker, Paul H., et al. “Reported history of child sexual abuse in schizophrenia: Associations with elevated symptom levels and poor participation over four months in vocational rehabilitation.” Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases 193(12): 790-795. PsycINFO. Network. 18 February 2012. "Psychosis". Dictionary.com. Np, 2012. Web. March 18, 2012. “Schizophrenia.” Dictionary.com. Np, 2012. Web. 18 March 2012. .Shevlin, Mark, Martin J. Dorahy and Adamson, Gary. “Trauma and Psychosis: An Analysis of the National Comorbidity Survey.” American Journal of Psychiatry 164 (January 2007): 166-169. Psychiatry online. Network. February 28. 2012.