What do psychotic experiences mean for young men? A qualitative investigation
R. Hirschfeld, Jo Smith, Peter Trower, Carl Griffin
Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice June 1, 2005 DOI: 10.1348/147608305x25865 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 6 |
| Population | Young men interviewed during the 3-5 years following their first psychotic episode |
| Duration | Interviews conducted during the 3-5 years following the first psychotic episode; each participant interviewed twice |
| Citations | 58 |
| Key findings | Four themes were common to all six accounts: experience of psychosis, immediate expression of psychotic experiences, personal and interpersonal changes, and personal explanations. The authors present these themes as capturing how young men describe and make sense of psychosis in the years after a first episode, and they draw out links to existing research and clinical implications. |
Abstract
This study is of a grounded theory analysis of the transcripts of young men talking about their experience of psychosis. Six young men were interviewed twice during the critical period of 3-5 years following their first psychotic episode. The young men were asked to reflect on themselves and their lives before, during, and after having psychotic experiences. The transcripts were considered to have a phenomenological status, in that they represented the participants' perspectives on their experiences. Four themes emerged that were common to all the accounts: experience of psychosis, immediate expression of psychotic experiences, personal and interpersonal changes, and personal explanations. These themes are explored in detail, and their links with existing research and clinical implications are considered.
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Psychotic-like experiences among university female students in Qatar: A qualitative-phenomenological study. Frontiers in Psychiatry 2022
- Reconceptualizing Schizophrenia through a Patient-Oriented Perspective: a Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-Synthesis. Schizophrenia Bulletin August 20, 2026
- A qualitative phenomenological analysis of the subjective experience and understanding of the at risk mental state. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being December 1, 2017