Adolescent onset psychosis. A clinical and outcome study

58 psychotic adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 diagnosed according to RDC criteria were matched with psychiatric comparisons and followed-up using a two stage design. Information upon the group as a whole was obtained using death records, criminal records and data from the Oxford Record Linkage System. A sub-sample of 21 matched pairs were interviewed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia--Life time version (SADS-L) and the Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (APFA). The outcome of adolescent schizophrenia was poor with 78% continuously ill and socially handicapped. Outcome was better for bipolar disorders and schizo-affective disorders and similar to psychiatric comparisons.