Avoidant coping and treatment outcome in rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder.

Objective: This study investigated the impact of avoidant coping on treatment outcome in rape-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Method: Adult women with rape-related PTSD (N = 62) received 9 sessions of prolonged exposure (PE) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). The mean age for the sample was 34.

Patient-level predictors and clinical correlates of duration of untreated psychosis among hospitalized first-episode patients.

Objective: Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) has been associated with poor early course outcomes of nonaffective psychotic disorders; however, less is known about predictors of DUP. This study examined patient-level predictors of DUP and clinical correlates of both DUP and duration of untreated illness (DUI), both of which have been implicated as prognostic indicators.

Method: Participants included 109 first-episode patients hospitalized in 3 public-sector inpatient psychiatric units serving an urban, socially disadvantaged, predominantly African American community.

Stigma and treatment delay in first-episode psychosis: a grounded theory study.

Aim: A longer duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is associated with greater morbidity in the early course of schizophrenia. This formative, hypothesis-generating study explored the effects of stigma, as perceived by family members, on DUP.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 African American family members directly involved in treatment initiation for a relative with first-episode psychosis.

The period of untreated psychosis before treatment initiation: a qualitative study of family members' perspectives.

Aim: This study used a qualitative research methodology to explore common themes pertaining to the period of untreated psychosis before treatment initiation in hospitalized, urban, African American, first-episode psychosis patients.

Methods: Twelve family members of 10 patients were interviewed at length to gather detailed narrative accounts of factors related to untreated psychosis and treatment delay. Using qualitative analysis, verbatim transcripts were reviewed by 2 researchers to identify prominent themes useful for generating future research hypotheses.

Family strengths: a potential determinant of the duration of untreated psychosis among hospitalized African-American first-episode patients.

Aim: Evidence suggests that treatment delay, represented by the duration of untreated illness (DUI) and the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), may be a potentially powerful determinant of the early course of primary psychotic disorders. Yet, research on the predictors of treatment delay has only just begun. To date, there are virtually no empirical data on the relationship between family functioning and treatment delay in the context of first-episode psychosis.

Mode of onset of psychosis and family involvement in help-seeking as determinants of duration of untreated psychosis.

Background: The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is a potentially modifiable determinant of the early course of nonaffective psychotic disorders, though a paucity of research has addressed determinants of DUP. Recent data from London and Nottingham, UK indicated that a shorter DUP was predicted by: (1) an acute mode of onset, (2) employment, and (3) active involvement of at least one family member in seeking evaluation (Morgan et al. Br J Psychiatry 189:446-452, 2006).

A pilot study of an exposure-based intervention in the ED designed to prevent posttraumatic stress disorder.

Early interventions to prevent PTSD have been limited in scope and effectiveness. This pilot study examines the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a model for brief preventive intervention: 1-session individualized exposure-based therapy delivered in the emergency department (ED). Eligible patients who experienced exposure to a traumatic event in the previous 24 hours were screened and assigned to assessment-only (n = 5) or intervention (imaginal exposure, n = 5) conditions.