Psychosis
Last updated 15/06/2007
Bentall R.P., Kaney S & Dewey. M (1991), Paranoia and Social Reasoning: An Attribution Theory Analysis, British Journal of Clinical Psychology, No. 30, pp.13 23
Bettes B. A. & Walker, E. (1987) Positive and negative symptoms in psychotic and other psychiatrically disturbed children. Journal of Childhood Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 555-568
Lockhart A. R. (1975): Mary's Dog is an Ear Mother: Listening to the Voices of Psychosis, Psychological Perspectives Vol. 6, No 2, pp.144 160
Mark Olfson, Roberto Lewis-Fernández, Myrna M. Weissman, Adriana Feder, Marc J. Gameroff, Daniel Pilowsky, and Milton Fuentes. Psychotic Symptoms in an Urban General Medicine Practice Am J Psychiatry, Aug 2002; 159: 1412 - 1419.
OBJECTIVE: The authors’ goals were to estimate the prevalence of psychotic symptoms among adults attending an urban general medical practice that serves a low-income population and to describe the mental health, social and occupational functioning, and mental health treatment of these patients.
METHOD: Data were drawn from a recent study of adult primary care patients (N=1,005) in a large, urban, university-affiliated general medicine practice. During a medical visit, patients completed the psychotic disorders section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders, a drug use disorders screen, the Sheehan Disability Scale, and a questionnaire that probed demographic characteristics, health status, and mental health treatment.
RESULTS: Two hundred ten (20.9%) patients reported one or more psychotic symptoms, most commonly auditory hallucinations. There was an inverse correlation between family income and the prevalence of psychotic symptoms and a positive association between prevalence and Hispanic ethnicity. Compared with patients without psychotic symptoms, patients with psychotic symptoms were significantly more likely to have major depression (42.4% versus 12.6%), panic disorder (24.8% versus 4.0%), generalized anxiety disorder (38.6% versus 8.4%), and alcohol use disorder (12.9% versus 5.0%). They were also more likely to report current suicidal ideation (20.0% versus 3.5%), recent work loss (55.0% versus 35.6%), and marital distress (28.6% versus 13.0%). Approximately one-half of the patients with psychotic symptoms (47.6%) had taken a prescribed psychotropic medication during the last month.
CONCLUSIONS: Psychotic symptoms were highly prevalent in this primary care practice. These patients were at risk for several common mental disorders and often reported impaired work and social functioning. Future research should clarify the extent to which psychotic symptom reports among Hispanic patients are affected by culturally patterned idioms of distress. Clinicians who work in primary care practices that serve low-income patient populations should routinely inquire about psychotic symptoms.
Morgan, C., Kirkbride, J., Leff, J., Craig, T., Hutchinson, G., McKenzie, K., Morgan, K., Dazzan, P., Doody, G., Jones, P., Murray, R., & Fearon, P. (2007) Parental separation, loss and psychosis in different ethnic groups: a case-control study. Psychological Medicine, in press.
Morgan, C., Fearon, P., Hutchinson, G., McKenzie, K., Lappin, J., Abdul-Al, R., Morgan, K., Dazzan, P., Boydell, J., Harrison, G., Craig, T., Leff, J., Jones, P., & Murray, R., on behalf of the ÆSOP Study Group (2006) Ethnicity and duration of untreated psychosis in the ÆSOP first-onset psychosis study. Psychological Medicine, 36(2), 239-248.
Comments
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I suffer with manic depression (I hear God's Voice when 'low'). I am editing a newsletter for The Bridge Collective C I C (Community Interest Company, in Exeter Devon): 'Special Issue' on Bipolar Disorder. I would like to include an article on 'hearing voices' / 'manic depression' / 'psychosis' does anybody have any experience / insight / wherewithal? If so, please contact me asap. Thanks, Peter
