Journal
SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH
Volume 96, Issue 1-3, Pages 206-214Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2007.07.017
Keywords
duration of untreated psychosis; help-seeking delay; delays in referral; first-episode psychosis
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Introduction: Knowledge about factors that influence different components of duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is important for designing interventions to reduce DUP. Method: We tested associations between help-seeking and referral components of DUP (DUP-H and DUP-R, respectively) and the following predictor variables: age, gender, ethnicity, living arrangement, pre-morbid adjustment, age at onset of psychosis, diagnosis, level of symptoms, type of first and total number of mental health contacts prior to and after the onset of psychosis in a sample of 98 first-episode psychosis patients (FEP). Results: Longer DUP-HS was significantly associated with earlier age at onset, diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum psychosis and poor pre-morbid adjustment during adolescence. Longer DUP-R was associated with earlier age at onset and first help-seeking contact having been made with a non-medical professional. Conclusions: Relatively non-malleable patient characteristics are likely to influence delay in help-seeking while more malleable systemic characteristics influence delay associated with referral for specialized treatment. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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