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The Duration of Untreated Psychosis: A Phenomenological Study.

Sarah R. Kamens, Larry Davidson, Emily Hyun, Nev Jones, Jill Morawski, Matthew Kurtz, Jessica Pollard, Gerrit Ian Van Schalkwyk, Vinod Srihari

Psychosis 2018 DOI: 10.1080/17522439.2018.1524924 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study (mixed methods) Peer reviewed
Sample size 10
Population Young adults participating in early intervention services for recent-onset psychosis
Topics Philosophy of mind
Keywords Early intervention First episode psychosis Transition-age youth
Key findings Participants described a trajectory of subjective difficulties (TSD) that began before and extended beyond standardized DUP estimates. They emphasized striving for independence and social belonging, and most reported benefiting from current services while believing earlier support of some kind would have been beneficial. The authors argue these findings support prior work on subjective barriers to early detection and treatment seeking.

Abstract

Mounting evidence has indicated that early intervention leads to improved clinical and functional outcomes for young persons experiencing recent onset psychosis. As part of a large early detection campaign, the present study aimed to investigate subjective experiences during the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), or time between psychosis onset and treatment contact. Participants were 10 young adults participating in early intervention services for psychosis. After DUP was estimated during standardized baseline assessment, participants engaged in qualitative interviews focused on their life experiences prior to treatment and leading up to the present. Mixed methods data analyses compared standardized DUP estimates with participants' subjective narratives. Findings revealed that participants experienced and conceptualized a longer trajectory of subjective difficulties (TSD) beginning before and extending beyond standardized DUP estimates. Participants emphasized striving for independence and social belonging. The majority of participants reported benefiting from their current services and believed that earlier support of some kind would have been beneficial. These findings support previous research on subjective barriers to early detection and treatment seeking in young adults experiencing psychosis. Implications and future research directions include further efforts to differentiate the struggles unique to early psychosis from psychosocial risk factors and other challenges of young adulthood.

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