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Assessing adolescent preference in the treatment of first‐episode psychosis and psychosis risk
Author(s) -
Welsh Patrick,
Tiffin Paul A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
early intervention in psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.087
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1751-7893
pISSN - 1751-7885
DOI - 10.1111/eip.12077
Subject(s) - psychosis , at risk mental state , psychiatry , psychological intervention , intervention (counseling) , psychology , antipsychotic , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , clinical psychology , preference , early psychosis , economics , microeconomics
Aim The objective of this study was to investigate the treatment preferences of adolescents with a first‐episode psychosis ( FEP ) or at‐risk mental state ( ARMS ) for psychosis. Methods A questionnaire was distributed to all adolescents (12–18 years) within an early intervention in psychosis service based in N orth‐ E ast E ngland, during a 3‐month period. Results Forty eligible young people responded (53% response rate). The majority of FEP and ARMS participants endorsed psychoeducational material as the most popular treatment choice (36/40; 90%) from the interventions described. Participants with FEP indicated a significant preference for using antipsychotic medications over their ARMS counterparts (75% vs. 25%). Conclusions These findings support the use of psychoeducational interventions (both groups) and antipsychotic medication in adolescent FEP (as opposed to ARMS ) patient groups, albeit in a small sample requiring replication. This study indicates that the generation of future treatment guidelines and the allocation of clinical resources should be informed by patient preference where possible.