The results indicate that CHR individuals display substantial emotion awareness and emotion-regulation deficits, at severity comparable with those observed in individuals with schizophrenia. Such deficits, in particular difficulties describing feelings, predate the onset of psychosis and contribute significantly to poor SF in this population.

There has been recent interest in understanding the role that sleep disturbance plays in patients at Clinical High Risk for psychosis (CHR). We assessed sleep disturbance in 194 CHR patients and 66 healthy control subjects and their relationship to symptoms (positive, negative and general functioning). Patients experienced significantly more sleep disturbance than healthy control subjects and their sleep disturbance was related to greater positive and negative symptoms and worse overall functioning. Targeting sleep disturbance in CHR individuals may provide alternative means of treating the CHR syndrome.

Background DSM-5 proposes an Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS) for further investigation, based upon the Attenuated Positive Symptom Syndrome (APSS) in the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS). SIPS Unusual Thought Content, Disorganized Communication and Total Disorganization scores predicted progression to psychosis in a 2015 NAPLS-2 Consortium report. We sought to independently replicate this in a large single-site high-risk cohort, and identify baseline demographic and clinical predictors beyond current APS/APSS criteria. Method We prospectively studied 200 participants meeting criteria for both the SIPS APSS and DSM-5 APS. SIPS scores, demographics, family history of psychosis, DSM Axis-I diagnoses, schizotypy, and social and role functioning were assessed at baseline, with follow-up every 3 months for 2 years. Results The conversion rate was 30% (n = 60), or 37.7% excluding participants who were followed under 2 years. This rate was stable across time. Conversion time averaged 7.97 months for 60% who developed schizophrenia and 15.68 for other psychoses. Mean conversion age was 20.3 for males and 23.5 for females. Attenuated odd ideas and thought disorder appear to be the positive symptoms which best predict psychosis in a logistic regression. Total negative symptom score, Asian/Pacific Islander and Black/African-American race were also predictive. As no Axis-I diagnosis or schizotypy predicted conversion, the APS is supported as a distinct syndrome. In addition, cannabis use disorder did not increase risk of conversion to psychosis. Conclusions NAPLS SIPS findings were replicated while controlling for clinical and demographic factors, strongly supporting the validity of the SIPS APSS and DSM-5 APS diagnosis.

Recent research suggests that trauma history (TH) is a strong socio-environmental risk factor for the development of psychosis. While reported rates of childhood trauma are higher among individuals at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis than in the general population, little research has explored the effects of trauma upon the severity of attenuated positive symptoms. We aimed to explore the specific relationships between TH and baseline symptom severity; likelihood of conversion to full-blown psychosis; suicidal ideation (SI); and suicidal behavior (SB) in a cohort of 200 help-seeking CHR individuals. Participants were evaluated every three months for up to two years using the Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS). More trauma history was reported by females and Hispanic/Latino participants, while age and race did not significantly distinguish those with and without TH. Individuals with TH reported higher rates of SI and SB than those without. While TH was positively associated with several SIPS subscales, including Unusual Thought Content, Perceptual Abnormalities/Hallucinations, Bizarre Thinking, Sleep Disturbances, and Dysphoric Mood, and negatively associated with Expressed Emotion, results indicated that TH was not significantly related to conversion to psychosis. Moreover, baseline SI was unrelated to conversion and baseline DSM diagnosis, with the exception of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These results suggest that traumatic experiences may significantly impact the severity of attenuated positive symptoms and suicidality in the CHR state, providing new windows for further research and potential intervention.