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Objectives: To assess psychopathological symptoms and history of childhood trauma in patients with newly developed psychogenic seizures.Methods: Using validated scales, 178 patients from the general population diagnosed with newly developed seizures were assessed, at a point in time when the nature of their seizures was yet unknown to either doctors or patients. After standardised neurological examination, 138 patients were diagnosed with non-psychogenic seizures (NPS), while 40 patients were found to have psychogenic seizures (PS). To evaluate possible differences between the genders and the diagnostic groups, univariate analyses of variance were done.Results: PS patients reported significantly more comorbid psychopathological complaints, dissociative experiences, anxiety, and self-reported childhood trauma than NPS patients. In addition, PS patients had lower quality of life ratings than NPS patients. These effects were not modulated by gender.Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that patients with newly developed PS constitute a group with complex psychopathological features that warrant early detection and treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]