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S upport for W ellness A chievement P rogramme ( SWAP ): clinical and demographic characteristics of young people with at‐risk mental state in S ingapore
Author(s) -
Tay Sarah Ann,
Yuen Spencer,
Lim Lay Keow,
Pariyasami Santhathevi,
Rao Sujatha,
Poon Lye Yin,
Verma Swapna
Publication year - 2015
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.12176
Subject(s) - at risk mental state , positive and negative syndrome scale , psychology , mental state , psychopathology , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , anxiety , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medicine , psychosis
Aim Individuals with at‐risk mental state ( ARMS ) experience subtle changes in thinking, behaviour and emotion before their first psychotic episode. Research has shown intervention provided during this period could delay, reduce, or even prevent the conversion to psychosis. In M arch 2008, the S upport for W ellness A chievement P rogramme ( SWAP ) was launched for the assessment and treatment of patients with ARMS in S ingapore. This paper examines the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients at baseline. Methods In total, 384 patients were screened and 155 were accepted into the service. All patients were evaluated using the C omprehensive A ssessment of A t‐ R isk M ental S tate ( CAARMS ). Severity of psychopathology was assessed by P ositive and N egative S yndrome S cale for S chizophrenia ( PANSS ) and levels of functioning were assessed using the S ocial and O ccupational F unctioning A ssessment S cale ( SOFAS ). Results The mean age of the patients was 21.0 years (standard deviation ( SD ) = 3.5) and 69.7% were men, 42.6% had a relative with a mental health problem and 69.8% met the criterion solely for the attenuated symptoms group. The mean PANSS total score was 48.9 ( SD = 10.8). There was also a high rate of comorbidity with 34.8% having depression and 20.0% had anxiety disorders. The mean baseline SOFAS score was 51.5 ( SD = 9.8), indicating moderate impairment in their functioning. Conclusion These preliminary findings have highlighted that our data are similar to other ARMS programmes, and in addition to the management of ARMS , there is a need to treat both the comorbidities and impairment in social occupational functioning.