Family Perception and 6-Month Symptomatic and Functioning Outcomes in Young Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis in a General Population in China

Lu Wang; JingYu Shi; FaZhan Chen; YuHong Yao; ChenYu Zhan; XiaoWen Yin; XiaoYan Fang; HaoJie Wang; JiaBei Yuan; XuDong Zhao

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138361

Family Perception and 6-Month Symptomatic and Functioning Outcomes in Young Adolescents at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis in a General Population in China

PLoS One. 2015 Sep 22;10(9):e0138361. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138361. eCollection 2015.

Authors

Lu Wang¹, JingYu Shi², FaZhan Chen³, YuHong Yao⁴, ChenYu Zhan¹, XiaoWen Yin¹, XiaoYan Fang¹, HaoJie Wang¹, JiaBei Yuan¹, XuDong Zhao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Faculty of Humanities and Behavior Medicine, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
³ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Department of Tongji university counseling center, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Faculty of Humanities and Behavior Medicine, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Background and aims: Given the difficulty of treating schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis, researchers have shifted focus to early detection and intervention of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis. Previous studies have shown that elements in family functioning could predict symptom outcome in CHR individuals. However, associations between self reported family functioning and symptom or functioning outcome of CHR individuals was rarely reported. Our study aimed to investigate the characteristics and the role of family functioning in the development of CHR individuals among young adolescents.

Methods: A sample of 32 CHR individuals was recruited from 2800 university students. The characteristics of family perception were evaluated by both Family Assessment Device (FAD) and Family cohesion and adaptability evaluation Scale II (FACES II). 6 month follow up data was available with 25 of the recruited CHR individuals. Baseline socio-demographic characteristics and family functioning were compared between CHR and control group. We also measured the associations between different dimensions of perceived family functioning and both severity of prodromal symptoms and global functioning at baseline and 6-month follow up.

Results: CHR individuals showed more maladaptive family functioning compared to control in nearly all of the dimensions of FAD and FACES II except for Affective Involvement. Better Problem Solving and Affective Responsiveness predicted less severe positive and negative symptoms respectively. Family cohesion and adaptability were not only correlated with the baseline severity of general symptoms, but also positively associated with the general and disorganized symptom outcome.

Conclusions: This study contributed preliminary evidence towards the associations between family perception and symptom outcome of CHR individuals. It also provided evidence for the importance of family interventions on CHR individuals.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Case-Control Studies
China
Demography
Family / psychology*
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Psychotic Disorders / diagnosis*
Psychotic Disorders / pathology
Risk Factors
Severity of Illness Index
Surveys and Questionnaires
Translating
Young Adult

Associated data

figshare/10.6084/m9.figshare.1507488

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Shanghai Pujiang Program (Grant no. 14PJ1408500; URL: http://www.stcsm.gov.cn/) and grants from for Health Professions (Grant No. 201002003; URL: http://www.nhfpc.gov.cn/), and sponsored by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant no.1500219065; URL: http://www.edu.cn/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.