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Clinical and demographic correlates of stigma in first-episode psychosis: the impact of duration of untreated psychosis Mueser KT, DeTore NR, Kredlow MA, Bourgeois ML, Penn DL, Hintz K. Clinical and demographic correlates of stigma in first-episode psychosis: the impact of duration of untreated psychosis.Objective: To evaluate the relationships between perceived stigma and duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), demographic characteristics, and clinical and psychosocial functioning in persons with a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Method: A total of 399 participants with FEP presenting for treatment at 34 sites in 21 states throughout the United States were evaluated using standardized instruments to assess diagnosis, symptoms, psychosocial functioning, perceived stigma, wellbeing, and subjective recovery. Results: Perceived stigma was correlated with a range of demographic and clinical variables, including DUP, symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and subjective experience. After controlling for symptom severity, perceived stigma was related to longer DUP, schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, more severe depression, and lower wellbeing and recovery. The associations between stigma and depression, wellbeing, and recovery were stronger in individuals with long than short DUP, suggesting the effects of stigma on psychological functioning may be cumulative over the period of untreated psychosis. Conclusion: The findings suggest that independent of symptom severity, perceived stigma may contribute to delay in seeking treatment for FEP, and this delay may amplify the deleterious effects of stigma on psychological functioning. The results point to the importance of reducing DUP and validating interventions targeting the psychological effects of stigma in people with FEP. Significant outcomes• Higher levels of perceived stigma were significantly associated with a longer duration of untreated psychosis when controlling for psychiatric symptoms.• Perceived stigma was significantly related to more severe symptoms, worse psychosocial functioning, and lower subjective wellbeing and sense of recovery.• When overall symptom severity was statistically controlled, perceived stigma was related to worse depression, and lower wellbeing and recovery. Limitations• Only one (abbreviated) measure of perceived stigma was used, and self-stigma was not directly assessed.

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Prior research into the link between cognitive and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder has examined primarily asymptomatic patients, has measured these domains concurrently, and has failed to establish convergent validity in the assessment of psychosocial dysfunction. The present study examines the relation between cognitive and psychosocial functioning at the time of discharge from hospitalization for acute mood disturbance. We obtained measures of psychosocial functioning that were both close and distant to the time of neuropsychological testing; the former from the discharging psychiatrists, and the latter from reports of formally recognized disability status, determined by persons wholly unrelated to the present research. Sixty-three patients with bipolar I disorder, hospitalized for acute mood disturbance, completed a neuropsychological test battery 24 to 48 hours prior to discharge. We compared patients with versus without formal disability status on the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale and on scores of neuropsychological tests. We also tested associations between GAF scores and cognitive test scores. Results supported the convergent validity in the measurement of psychosocial disability, underscored the robust connection between cognitive and psychosocial impairment, and highlighted the presence of this connection during an important clinical state – time of discharge from psychiatric hospitalization.