Postsecondary academic achievement and first-episode psychosis: A mixed-methods study.

Background: Postsecondary academic achievement as an area of functional recovery for young adults living with mental illness has received little research attention.

Purpose: This study had three purposes: to compare rates of participation, performance, and satisfaction in postsecondary education between young adults with first-episode psychosis and closely matched young adults; to identify characteristics associated with academic participation; and to explore the processes associated with educational experiences.

Method: One hundred young adults ages 18 to 30 participated in the study.

Preserved priming effect in individuals with schizophrenia: cues towards rehabilitation.

Introduction: Individuals with schizophrenia and affective disorders show relatively intact implicit memory as compared to declarative memory. Implicit memory is usually assessed with skill learning and priming tasks. Whereas priming is thought to involve storage changes in the posterior neocortex, skill learning is thought to rely more on the corticostriatal pathway.

Housing and home-leaving experiences of young adults with psychotic disorders: a comparative qualitative study.

Housing stability is a key component of rehabilitation for individuals with severe mental illnesses but remains a challenge for mental health service providers, particularly with young adults experiencing early mental health difficulties. The aim of this study is to explore perceptions of housing and home-leaving processes among young adults with emerging psychotic disorders and to compare it to the perceptions of young adults without psychotic disorders. A qualitative, grounded theory based, multiple case study was conducted among 52 adults aged 18-30 years old.

Transitions to adulthood in first-episode psychosis: a comparative study.

Aim: The first aim of this study is to compare attainment of five markers of transition to adulthood between young adults with first-episode psychosis and young adults without any psychopathology. The second aim is to examine if the association between age group and transition to adulthood is similar for individuals who experience first-episode psychosis versus those who do not.

Methods: Participants were 50 young adults with first-episode schizophrenia aged between 18 and 30 years old, and 50 volunteers without any psychopathology matched for sex and age.

NonREM sleep mentation in chronically-treated persons with schizophrenia.

This study examined the laboratory dream content reported by 14 patients with schizophrenia and 15 controls, with a focus on reports obtained from NonREM sleep. Both the controls' and patients' frequency of dream recall following awakenings from NonREM and REM sleep were similar to values reported for healthy participants. Patients' NonREM sleep narratives were shorter than those from controls.

Dream content in chronically-treated persons with schizophrenia.

Many clinical, laboratory and non-laboratory studies have examined dream content reported by patients with schizophrenia but findings have been variable and inconsistent. Using both questionnaire-based measures and laboratory REM sleep awakenings, we investigated dream content in 14 patients with schizophrenia (mean age=25.5+/-3.

Development of an atherogenic metabolic risk factor profile associated with the use of atypical antipsychotics.

Background: It is important to assess cardiovascular risk factors to properly verify the potential consequences of atypical antipsychotic-related weight gain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether 2 atypical antipsychotics differ regarding their impact on the cardiovascular disease risk profile compared with a reference group.

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional, multicenter study to assess anthropometric indices of obesity and to obtain a comprehensive fasting metabolic risk profile.

Study of sexuality-related characteristics in young adults with schizophrenia treated with novel neuroleptics and in a comparison group of young adults.

This study compared characteristics related to sexual history, sexual activities, sexual functioning, and psychological tendencies associated with sexuality in 45 young adults with schizophrenia treated with novel neuroleptics and in 61 young adults from a comparison group. A smaller proportion of young adults with schizophrenia currently had a sexual partner or had ever engaged in sexual relations. They also had sexual relations and sexual desires less often.