Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Predictors of service disengagement in first-admitted adolescents with psychosis
Benno Graf Schimmelmann1, Philippe Conus2, Melanie Schacht2
1Dr. Schimmelmann is with the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany; Dr. Lambert is with the Psychosis Early Detection and Intervention Centre (PEDIC), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University-Hospital Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; Ms. Schacht is with PEDIC, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University-Hospital Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany; Dr. Conus is with the Département Universitaire de Psychiatrie Adulte, Prilly, Switzerland; and Dr. McGorry is with the Orygen Youth Health and Research Centre, Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre, Melbourne, Australia..
Objective:
To assess the risk and predictors of service disengagement in adolescents with first-episode psychosis (FEP) receiving their first treatment in a long-standing early intervention and prevention centre.
Method:
The Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) in Australia admitted 157 adolescents, ages 15 to 18, with FEP from January 1998 to December 2000. Treatment at EPPIC spans an average of 18-months. Data were collected from patients' charts using a standardized questionnaire; 134 charts were available. Time to service disengagement was the outcome of interest. Baseline and treatment predictors of service disengagement were examined via Cox proportional hazards model.
Results:
Kaplan-Meier 18-month risk of service disengagement was 0.28. A lower severity of illness at baseline (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1-0.4), living without family during treatment (HR = 4.8; 95% CI 2.1-11.2), and persistent substance use during treatment (HR = 2.6; 95% CI 1.1-5.9) contributed significantly to predicting service disengagement. Neither initial substance use nor insight at baseline was related to service disengagement.
Conclusions:
Clinicians should focus on treating substance use and establishing a social network if family support is missing in adolescents with FEP. In addition, clinicians should apply strategies to keep in touch with those adolescents who might not see the necessity of continuous treatment because of a moderate severity of illness.
Related Concept Videos
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Personality Disorders: Paranoid and Schizoid
Paranoid Personality Disorder
Paranoid personality disorder is...
Self-Discrepancy and Its Effects
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Diagnostic Criteria and...
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Behavioral Characteristics and...