“…In order to develop better and more specific treatments researchers and clinicians focus on identifying factors associated with long-term disability that can be assessed already at the initial treatment contact (Kirkpatrick et al, 2006). Studies of patients coming into treatment for their first episode of psychosis show that severity of psychotic symptoms at first treatment contact as well as diagnosis has a relatively weak association with poor psychosocial functioning (from now called “functioning”) and is a poor predictor of future disability, while negative symptoms (Pogue-Geile and Harrow, 1985; White et al, 2009), male gender (Cotton et al, 2009), poor premorbid adjustment (Gonzalez-Ortega et al, 2013; MacBeth and Gumley, 2008; White et al, 2009), long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) (Marshall et al, 2005; White et al, 2009), and cognitive dysfunction (Carlsson et al, 2006; Gonzalez-Blanch et al, 2010; Malla et al, 2002b) have been identified as stronger predictors.…”