Family strengths: a potential determinant of the duration of untreated psychosis among hospitalized African-American first-episode patients.

AIM: Evidence suggests that treatment delay, represented by the duration of untreated illness (DUI) and the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), may be a potentially powerful determinant of the early course of primary psychotic disorders. Yet, research on the predictors of treatment delay has only just begun. To date, there are virtually no empirical data on the relationship between family functioning and treatment delay in the context of first-episode psychosis. In this study, it was hypothesized that family strengths would be inversely correlated with DUI and DUP; and families of patients with a short DUI/DUP would have greater family strengths than those of patients with a long DUI/DUP.

METHODS: Family strengths (including pride and accord dimensions), DUI and DUP were assessed in 34 African Americans hospitalized for first-episode psychosis and their respective 34 family members most involved in initiating care.

RESULTS: The total score of the Family Strengths scale and the accord subscale score were significantly inversely correlated with both DUI and DUP, although the correlation between the pride subscale score and DUI/DUP was not as strong and failed to reach statistical significance. Similarly, the family members of patients with a short DUI/DUP had higher family strength scores than those of patients with a long DUI/DUP.

CONCLUSIONS: Given the dearth of research on the functioning of families beginning to initiate care for individuals with first-episode psychosis, it is imperative to further clarify the role family characteristics may play in understanding treatment delay (DUI/DUP) and in the development of preventive interventions to facilitate early intervention for at-risk populations.