Neighbourhoods & recovery from psychosis in Trinidad: A qualitative study.

•Various aspects of neighbourhood environments influence recovery from psychosis.•High levels of violence at the neighbourhood level may negatively affect recovery.•Social cohesion may be a protective factor that promotes recovery.

Understanding mental health conditions and key coping strategies utilized during major lockdowns in the Caribbean based on Google trends searches.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted countries to implement extended Shelter in Place Orders (SIPOs) to restrict population movement and mitigate community spread. While these lockdown measures may be effective in containing the virus, they can substantially impact the population's well-being, potentially undermining their overall welfare. This study investigates whether major lockdowns implemented in the Caribbean produced differential changes in mental health among key English-Speaking Caribbean countries.

Parental bonding style and illness severity in a longitudinal study of individuals with first episode psychosis.

A parenting style with high amounts of control combined with low caring or nurturing behaviour has been reported in association with mental disorders including schizophrenia. However, the association of parenting style with illness severity in individuals with schizophrenia has never been evaluated retrospectively or over a longitudinal time course. In a subset (n = 84) of the participants included in the AESOP (Aetiology and Ethnicity in Schizophrenia and Other Psychoses)-10 study, we evaluated participants' perceptions of their own parents' bonding style at the time of their first episode of psychosis using the parental bonding instrument (PBI).

Cannabis use and psychotic disorders in diverse settings in the Global South: findings from INTREPID II.

Background: Cannabis use has been linked to psychotic disorders but this association has been primarily observed in the Global North. This study investigates patterns of cannabis use and associations with psychoses in three Global South (regions within Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania) settings.

Methods: Case-control study within the International Programme of Research on Psychotic Disorders (INTREPID) II conducted between May 2018 and September 2020.

Urbanicity and rates of untreated psychotic disorders in three diverse settings in the Global South.

Background: Extensive evidence indicates that rates of psychotic disorder are elevated in more urban compared with less urban areas, but this evidence largely originates from Northern Europe. It is unclear whether the same association holds globally. This study examined the association between urban residence and rates of psychotic disorder in catchment areas in India (Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu), Nigeria (Ibadan, Oyo), and Northern Trinidad.

Epidemiology of Untreated Psychoses in 3 Diverse Settings in the Global South: The International Research Program on Psychotic Disorders in Diverse Settings (INTREPID II).

Importance: Less than 10% of research on psychotic disorders has been conducted in settings in the Global South, which refers broadly to the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. There is a lack of basic epidemiological data on the distribution of and risks for psychoses that can inform the development of services in many parts of the world.

Objective: To compare demographic and clinical profiles of cohorts of cases and rates of untreated psychoses (proxy for incidence) across and within 3 economically and socially diverse settings in the Global South.

Life events and psychosis: case-control study from India, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Background: There is evidence of an association between life events and psychosis in Europe, North America and Australasia, but few studies have examined this association in the rest of the world.

Aims: To test the association between exposure to life events and psychosis in catchment areas in India, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Method: We conducted a population-based, matched case-control study of 194 participants in India, Nigeria, and Trinidad and Tobago.

INTREPID II: protocol for a multistudy programme of research on untreated psychosis in India, Nigeria and Trinidad.

Introduction: There are few robust and directly comparable studies of the epidemiology of psychotic disorders in the Global South. INTREPID II is designed to investigate variations in untreated psychotic disorders in the Global South in (1) incidence and presentation (2) 2-year course and outcome, (3) help-seeking and impact, and (4) physical health.

Methods: INTREPID II is a programme of research incorporating incidence, case-control and cohort studies of psychoses in contiguous urban and rural areas in India, Nigeria and Trinidad.

Migration, ethnicity and psychoses: evidence, models and future directions.

There is a large body of research reporting high rates of psychotic disorders among many migrant and minority ethnic groups, particularly in Northern Europe. In the context of increasing migration and consequent cultural diversity in many places worldwide, these findings are a major social and public health concern. In this paper, we take stock of the current state of the art, reviewing evidence on variations in rates of psychoses and putative explanations, including relevant theories and models.

Religion and Life Satisfaction: A Correlational Study of Undergraduate Students in Trinidad.

Religious behaviour tends to correlate positively with life satisfaction. The predictive power of this relationship is associated with various socio-demographic factors such as age, gender and religious affiliation. We investigated the relationship between religious involvement and life satisfaction in a multi-religious population of undergraduate medical students of the University of the West Indies.

Supernatural versus medical: Responses to mental illness from undergraduate university students in Trinidad.

Unlabelled: Background/Introduction: Perceptions about the aetiology of mental illness are likely to influence help-seeking behaviour. Understanding help-seeking behaviour will improve service provision and access. Therefore, this is likely to improve treatment outcomes.

Concepts of madness in diverse settings: a qualitative study from the INTREPID project.

Background: In order to facilitate case identification of incident (untreated and recent onset) cases of psychosis and controls in three sites in India, Nigeria and Trinidad, we sought to understand how psychoses (or madness) were conceptualized locally. The evidence we gathered also contributes to a long history of research on concepts of madness in diverse settings.

Methods: We conducted focus group discussions and individual interviews to collect information about how informants in each site make sense of and respond to madness.

CBT in a Caribbean Context: A Controlled Trial of Anger Management in Trinidadian Prisons.

Background: Anger causes significant problems in offenders and to date few interventions have been described in the Caribbean region.

Aim: To evaluate a package of CBT-based Anger Management Training provided to offenders in prison in Trinidad.

Method: A controlled clinical trial with 85 participants who participated in a 12-week prison-based group anger management programme, of whom 57 (67%: 16 control, 41 intervention) provided pretrial and posttrial outcome data at Times 1 and 2.

Gender differences in the association between childhood physical and sexual abuse, social support and psychosis.

Purpose: Childhood adversity (variously defined) is a robust risk factor for psychosis, yet the mitigating effects of social support in adulthood have not yet been explored. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between childhood sexual and physical abuse and adult psychosis, and gender differences in levels of perceived social support.

Methods: A sample of 202 individuals presenting for the first time to mental health services with psychosis and 266 population-based controls from south-east London and Nottingham, UK, was utilised.

Self esteem and self agency in first episode psychosis: Ethnic variation and relationship with clinical presentation.

The impact of self esteem and Locus of Control (LoC) on clinical presentation across different ethnic groups of patients at their first psychotic episode (FEP) remains unknown. We explored these constructs in 257 FEP patients (Black n=95; White British n=119) and 341 controls (Black n=70; White British n=226), and examined their relationship with symptom dimensions and pathways to care. FEP patients presented lower self-esteem and a more external LoC than controls.

Examination of the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire among British and Trinidadian adults.

Much debate in schizotypal research has centred on the factor structure of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ), with research variously showing higher-order dimensionality consisting of two to seven dimensions. In addition, cross-cultural support for the stability of those factors remains limited. Here, we examined the factor structure of the SPQ among British and Trinidadian adults.

Searching for psychosis: INTREPID (1): systems for detecting untreated and first-episode cases of psychosis in diverse settings.

Purpose: Our understanding of psychotic disorders is largely based on studies conducted in North America, Europe and Australasia. Few methodologically robust and comparable studies have been carried out in other settings. INTREPID is a programme of research on psychoses in India, Nigeria, and Trinidad.

Pre-morbid fertility in psychosis: findings from the AESOP first episode study.

Individuals with psychotic illnesses are known to have a reduced fertility. It is unclear whether this is due to biological or social factors. Most fertility studies have been conducted in chronic schizophrenia, where confounders like medication and hospitalisation make this difficult to elicit.

Current research on transcultural psychiatry in the Anglophone Caribbean: epistemological, public policy, and epidemiological challenges.

In this article, we review recent research on mental health in the Caribbean. Three major themes emerge: (a) the effects of colonialism on the Caribbean psyche; (b) decolonization of psychiatric public policy, including innovative treatment approaches, deinstitutionalization, and community and policy responses to mental health issues; and (c) the nature and epidemiology of psychiatric pathology among contemporary Caribbean people, with particular focus on migration, genetic versus social causation of psychosis and personality disorders, and mechanisms of resilience and social capital. Caribbean transcultural psychiatry illustrates the principles of equipoise unique to developing countries that protect the wellness and continued survival of postcolonial Caribbean people.

Differential relationship between neurological and cognitive dysfunction in first episode psychosis patients and in healthy individuals.

The minor neurological and cognitive deficits consistently reported in psychoses may reflect the same underlying brain dysfunction. Still, even in healthy individuals minor neurological abnormalities are associated with worse cognitive function. Therefore, establishing which neurological and cognitive deficits are specific to psychosis is essential to inform the pathophysiology of this disorder.

Ethnic identity, perceptions of disadvantage, and psychosis: findings from the ÆSOP study.

Many studies have shown that rates of psychosis are elevated in the Black and minority ethnic (BME) population in the UK. One important, but relatively less researched explanation of these high rates may be social adversity associated with acculturation processes. Strong identification with an ethnic minority group subjected to social disadvantage may exert adverse effects on individuals from BME groups.

Insight, grey matter and cognitive function in first-onset psychosis.

Background: Several studies have suggested that neuropsychological and structural brain deficits are implicated in poor insight. Few insight studies however have combined neurocognitive and structural neuroanatomical measures.

Aims: Focusing on the ability to relabel psychotic symptoms as pathological, we examined insight, brain structure and neurocognition in first-onset psychosis.

Migration, ethnicity, and psychosis: toward a sociodevelopmental model.

There is consistent and strong evidence that the incidence of all psychoses is higher in many migrant and minority ethnic populations in a number of countries. The reasons for this are, however, unclear and a wide range of explanations have been proposed, from genetic to neurodevelopmental to psychosocial. In this article, we describe and evaluate the available evidence for and against each of these.

Reliability and comparability of psychosis patients' retrospective reports of childhood abuse.

An increasing number of studies are demonstrating an association between childhood abuse and psychosis. However, the majority of these rely on retrospective self-reports in adulthood that may be unduly influenced by current psychopathology. We therefore set out to explore the reliability and comparability of first-presentation psychosis patients' reports of childhood abuse.

Gender differences in the association between childhood abuse and psychosis.

Background: Studies demonstrating an association between childhood trauma and psychosis in adulthood have not systematically explored gender differences.

Aims: To investigate gender differences in the prevalence of childhood sexual and physical abuse among people with psychosis in comparison with healthy controls.

Method: The Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse Questionnaire was completed to elicit experiences of sexual and physical abuse during childhood in first-episode psychosis cases and population-based controls.