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Poor social functioning is a hallmark of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to examine social functioning in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Social functioning was assessed in a sample of 86 clinical high risk (CHR) individuals and compared to that of 50 first-episode of psychosis (FE) subjects, 53 multi-episode schizophrenia subjects (ME) and 55 non-psychiatric controls (NPC). Subjects were assessed on the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), the Role Functioning subscale of the Quality of Life Scale (QLS-role), and the premorbid functioning scale. On the SFS, the CHR group did not differ significantly from the FE and ME groups and all were impaired relative to the NPCs. On QLS-role, the CHR group performed significantly better than the ME patients and significantly worse than NPCs. CHR subjects did not differ from patients in terms of premorbid functioning. This study demonstrates that even at the pre-psychotic phase of the illness, these young people are demonstrating significant deficits in social functioning, supporting that social deficits are present long before the onset of psychotic symptoms.

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OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify essential evidence-based components of first-episode psychosis services. METHODS The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage a systematic review of both peer-reviewed and gray literature (January 1980 to April 2010) was conducted. Databases searched included MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE. In the second stage, a consensus-building technique, the Delphi, was used with an international panel of experts. The panelists were presented the evidence-based components identified in the review, together with the level of supporting evidence for each component. They rated the importance of each component on a 5-point scale. A score of 5 was required to determine that a component was essential. RESULTS The review identified 1,020 citations; abstracts were reviewed for relevance. A total of 280 peer-reviewed articles met criteria for relevance. Two researchers independently reviewed these articles and identified 75 unique service components. Each component was assigned a level of supporting evidence. Twenty-seven experts completed the first Delphi round, of whom 23 participated in the second. Consensus was achieved in two rounds, with 32 components rated as essential. CONCLUSIONS The two-step process yielded a manageable list of 32 evidence-based components of first-episode psychosis services. Given the proliferation of such services and the absence of an evidence-based fidelity scale, this list can form a foundation for developing a fidelity scale for such services. It may also be helpful to funders and providers as a summary of essential services.

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