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Background and Hypotheses Early identification and prevention of psychosis is limited by the availability of tools designed to assess negative symptoms in those at clinical high-risk for psychosis (CHR). To address this critical need, a multi-site study was established to develop and validate a clinical rating scale designed specifically for individuals at CHR: The Negative Symptom Inventory-Psychosis Risk (NSI-PR). Study Design The measure was developed according to guidelines recommended by the NIMH Consensus Conference on Negative Symptoms using a transparent, iterative, and data-driven process. A 16-item version of the NSI-PR was designed to have an overly inclusive set of items and lengthier interview to support the ultimate intention of creating a new briefer measure. Psychometric properties of the 16-item NSI-PR were evaluated in a sample of 218 CHR participants. Study Results Item-level analyses indicated that men had higher scores than women. Reliability analyses supported internal consistency, inter-rater agreement, and temporal stability. Associations with measures of negative symptoms and functioning supported convergent validity. Small correlations with positive, disorganized, and general symptoms supported discriminant validity. Structural analyses indicated a 5-factor structure (anhedonia, avolition, asociality, alogia, and blunted affect). Item response theory identified items for removal and indicated that the anchor range could be reduced. Factor loadings, item-level correlations, item-total correlations, and skew further supported removal of certain items. Conclusions These findings support the psychometric properties of the NSI-PR and guided the creation of a new 11-item NSI-PR that will be validated in the next phase of this multi-site scale development project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Psychosis disrupts how persons experience themselves and their lives. Despite knowledge that gender differences have been noted in presentation and course of psychosis symptoms, little is known about differences in how men and women experience these disruptions. Method: The narratives of 26 men and 27 women diagnosed with psychosis, matched on age, education, and race, of the impact of psychosis on one's life, were compared. Using secondary data from semi‐structured interviews, themes were identified using inductive, phenomenological qualitative analyses. Results: Women and men discussed psychosis‐related interruptions to the roles and relationships that shape their identity. Both genders discussed the impact of psychosis on their sense of self, work, and relationships. Nuanced gender differences emerged, informing unique areas of challenge related to (1) parenting and loss of parenting roles, (2) work and loss or changes in work trajectories, (3) isolation and strain on interpersonal relationships, and (4) manifestations of stigma. Conclusions: Psychosis may disrupt distinct aspects of life for men and women. Each gender faces the intersection of socially informed expectations that impact one's experiences of stigma, expectations of others, and manifestations of losses felt in one's role and sense of identity. Findings inform important considerations for therapy and other services. Practitioner points: Gender‐based socialized expectations, losses, and challenges that accompany psychosis are important areas for therapeutic consideration.Current treatments may neglect challenges that are more commonly experienced by women with psychosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both neurocognition and negative symptoms have demonstrated strong links to functional outcomes, such as work functioning, among those with severe mental illness (SMI). Prior models have suggested that reduced neurocognition 1) precedes or predicts greater negative symptoms and 2) indirectly influences functional outcomes via its impact on negative symptoms. The current study sought to also test a divergent model: whether greater negative symptoms predict reduced neurocognition and indirectly influence work functioning through their impact on neurocognition. Both models were tested using cross-sectional and prospective data spanning 20-years in a sample of 277 people with a SMI with psychotic features. Results showed that both models were supported in cross-sectional analyses. However, in prospective models predicting work functioning, only the models examining the indirect influence of negative symptoms on work functioning (7.5 to up to 20-years later) through neurocognition demonstrated significant mediation (i.e., a significant indirect effect); further, higher negative symptoms significantly predicted lower prospective neurocognition, while lower neurocognition did not significantly predict greater prospective negative symptoms. Although cross-sectional data were consistent with prior models, our prospective models offered greater support for a putative causal pathway running from negative symptoms to neurocognition-rather than the reverse-to work functioning. Findings have implications for mechanisms contributing to longitudinal work functioning and suggest that targeting negative symptoms prior to neurocognition could be more beneficial for long-term work outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: High clinician turnover in community behavioral health settings can lead to increased costs and can have a negative impact on care quality. Few studies have examined the implications of clinician turnover for client outcomes. This study investigated changes in client outcomes associated with clinician turnover.Methods: The study used prospective observational data collected as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. Clients (N=328) from two community behavioral health centers identified the clinician (N=121) whom they saw most often. Clients completed measures of depression, anxiety, mental and physical health functioning, and patient activation at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months. Clinician turnover during the 12-month study was obtained from agency records. Latent growth curve modeling was used to analyze the data.Results: Of the 328 clients, 24% experienced clinician turnover. For all outcomes except depression, the association with turnover was moderated by baseline status on the outcome measure. Turnover tended to be associated with clinical decline for clients who at baseline had low to moderate anxiety, high patient activation, or high physical health functioning. Surprisingly, turnover was associated with increased mental health functioning for clients who at baseline had very low mental health functioning. For physical health functioning, the association with turnover was also moderated by age. Turnover was associated with a sharper decline in functioning for older clients.Conclusions: Results suggest that clinician turnover was associated most strongly with decline for higher functioning or older clients, but it was not uniformly associated with worsening clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual differences in intolerance of uncertainty are hypothesized to play a role in certain difficulties and distress in individuals with psychosis. However, the few studies that have directly explored this have yielded mixed results, which are difficult to interpret because measures of intolerance of uncertainty have not been formally validated for use with this population. To this end, the primary goal of the present study was to validate a brief (9-item) version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (Freeston et al. Personality and Individual Differences, 17, 791–802 1994) in an outpatient sample of 252 adults with psychosis. Results showed strong evidence for reliability (internal consistency and 6-month test-retest), as well as concurrent, predictive, and discriminant validity. Scores from the brief IUS were significantly correlated with emotional distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, hopelessness), quality of life, global functioning, and delusions, but not hallucinations. Further, these scores predicted changes in levels of general anxiety over time. Notably, intolerance of uncertainty was associated with symptoms/distress and functioning above and beyond pertinent cognitive variables (e.g., defeatist beliefs, asocial beliefs), suggesting this brief scale has incremental validity. Overall, results suggest it is a promising tool for future research on psychosis, and possibly clinical work with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthcare provider burnout is considered a factor in quality of care, yet little is known about the consistency and magnitude of this relationship. This meta-analysis examined relationships between provider burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) and the quality (perceived quality, patient satisfaction) and safety of healthcare.Methods: Publications were identified through targeted literature searches in Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses through March of 2015. Two coders extracted data to calculate effect sizes and potential moderators. We calculated Pearson's r for all independent relationships between burnout and quality measures, using a random effects model. Data were assessed for potential impact of study rigor, outliers, and publication bias.Results: Eighty-two studies including 210,669 healthcare providers were included. Statistically significant negative relationships emerged between burnout and quality (r = -0.26, 95 % CI [-0.29, -0.23]) and safety (r = -0.23, 95 % CI [-0.28, -0.17]). In both cases, the negative relationship implied that greater burnout among healthcare providers was associated with poorer-quality healthcare and reduced safety for patients. Moderators for the quality relationship included dimension of burnout, unit of analysis, and quality data source. Moderators for the relationship between burnout and safety were safety indicator type, population, and country. Rigor of the study was not a significant moderator.Discussion: This is the first study to systematically, quantitatively analyze the links between healthcare provider burnout and healthcare quality and safety across disciplines. Provider burnout shows consistent negative relationships with perceived quality (including patient satisfaction), quality indicators, and perceptions of safety. Though the effects are small to medium, the findings highlight the importance of effective burnout interventions for healthcare providers. Moderator analyses suggest contextual factors to consider for future study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For individuals with severe mental illness, relatively little is known about the impact of a veteran role identity. Consequently, this article investigates whether veterans (n = 20) and non-veterans (n = 26) with schizophrenia differ in their perceptions of self, illness, or treatment. Participants completed an audiotaped, semistructured interview that was transcribed and coded using modified grounded theory. Veterans were more likely than non-veterans to discuss the following themes: (1) wanting to be “normal,” (2) having a military mindset, (3) being optimistic toward the future, (4) resisting stigma, and (5) having active treatment attitudes. Findings support the theory that identifying as a veteran has several protective factors that might help shape self-perception and thereby responses to stigma, attitudes toward treatment, and hope for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Poor functioning has long been observed in individuals with psychosis. Recent studies have identified metacognition - one's ability to form complex ideas about oneself and others and to use that information to respond to psychological and social challenges-as being an important determinant of functioning. However, the exact process by which deficits in metacognition lead to impaired functioning remains unclear. This study first examined whether low intrinsic motivation, or the tendency to pursue novel experiences and to engage in self-improvement, mediates the relationship between deficits in metacognition and impaired functioning. We then examined whether intrinsic motivation significantly mediated the relationship when controlling for age, education, symptoms, executive functioning, and social cognition. Design Mediation models were examined in a cross-sectional data set. Methods One hundred and seventy-five individuals with a psychotic disorder completed interview-based measures of metacognition, intrinsic motivation, symptoms, and functioning and performance-based measures of executive functioning and social cognition. Results Analyses revealed that intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between metacognition deficits and impaired functioning (95% CI of indirect effect [0.12-0.43]), even after controlling for the aforesaid variables (95% CI of indirect effect [0.04-0.29]). Conclusions Results suggest that intrinsic motivation may be a mechanism that underlies the link between deficits in metacognition and impaired functioning and indicate that metacognition and intrinsic motivation may be important treatment targets to improve functioning in individuals with psychosis. Practitioner points The findings of this study suggest that deficits in metacognition may indirectly lead to impaired functioning through their effect on intrinsic motivation in individuals with psychosis., Psychological treatments that target deficits in both metacognition and intrinsic motivation may help to alleviate impaired functioning in individuals with psychosis., Limitations The cross-sectional design of this study is a limitation, and additional longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the direction of the findings and rule out rival hypotheses., Generalization of the findings may be limited by the sample composition. It may be that different relationships exist between metacognition, intrinsic motivation, and functioning in those with early psychosis or among those in an acute phase or who decline treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deleterious functional implications of motivation deficits in psychosis have generated interest in examining dimensions of the construct. However, there remains a paucity of data regarding whether dimensions of motivation differ over the course of psychosis. Therefore, this study examined two motivation dimensions, trait-like intrinsic motivation, and the negative symptom of amotivation, and tested the impact of illness phase on the 1) levels of these dimensions and 2) relationship between these dimensions. Participants with first episode psychosis (FEP; n=40) and prolonged psychosis (n=66) completed clinician-rated measures of intrinsic motivation and amotivation. Analyses revealed that when controlling for group differences in gender and education, the FEP group had significantly more intrinsic motivation and lower amotivation than the prolonged psychosis group. Moreover, intrinsic motivation was negatively correlated with amotivation in both FEP and prolonged psychosis, but the magnitude of the relationship did not statistically differ between groups. These findings suggest that motivation deficits are more severe later in the course of psychosis and that low intrinsic motivation may be partially independent of amotivation in both first episode and prolonged psychosis. Clinically, these results highlight the importance of targeting motivation in early intervention services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although shared decision making (SDM) is a key element of client-centered care, it has not been widely adopted. Accordingly, interventions have been developed to promote SDM. The aim of this study was to explore the implementation process of one SDM intervention, CommonGround, which utilizes peer specialists and a computerized decision support center to promote SDM. Method: As part of a larger study, CommonGround was implemented in 4 treatment teams in a community mental health center. The implementation process was examined by conducting semistructured interviews with 12 staff members that were integral to the CommonGround implementation. Responses were analyzed using content analysis. Program fidelity and client program use were also examined. Results: Although key informants identified several client and staff benefits to using CommonGround, including improved treatment engagement and availability of peer specialists, most clients did not use CommonGround consistently throughout the implementation. Key informants and fidelity reports indicated a number of program (e.g., technological difficulties, increased staff burden) and contextual barriers (e.g., poor fit with service structure, decision support center location, low staff investment and high turnover) to the successful implementation of CommonGround. Strategies to maximize the implementation by increasing awareness, buy-in, and utilization are also reported. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: This implementation of CommonGround was limited in its success partly as a result of program and contextual barriers. Future implementations may benefit from incorporating the strategies identified to maximize implementation in order to obtain the full program benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathy is integral for interpersonal interactions and formation and maintenance of a strong social network. There is wide agreement that empathy is a multidimensional construct, and it is commonly measured with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). The IRI is used widely across healthy and clinical populations, yet insufficient evidence exists on whether the IRI is appropriate for use in groups characterized by high levels of schizotypy. This study sought to examine the factor structure and psychometric characteristics of the IRI when used in a sample of participants with high schizotypy. Nine hundred forty-one undergraduates completed the IRI; 218 met criteria for high schizotypy. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test eight a priori factor structures, and scores from the best fitting model were correlated with relevant measures. Of the eight models tested, a two-factor model including the Perspective-Taking and Empathic Concern subscales evidenced the best fit. The original four-factor structure did not meet criteria for adequate fit in our sample. IRI subscale scores correlated with emotional intelligence. Results suggest that a two-factor structure of the IRI is the strongest path forward for use in high schizotypy samples. This approach, in addition to being psychometrically sound, has the added benefit of being a more brief and targeted assessment that aligns well with contemporary models of empathy. Public Significance Statement: The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) is widely used to measure empathy, which is highly important for social relationships. This study examined the structure of the IRI measure for use in samples characterized by high levels of schizotypal traits, and results indicate that a two-factor instead of four-factor structure is most appropriate when using the IRI in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recalcitrance of negative symptoms in the face of pharmacologic treatment has spurred interest in understanding the psychological factors that contribute to their formation and persistence. Accordingly, this study investigated whether deficits in metacognition, or the ability to form integrated ideas about oneself, others, and the world, prospectively predicted levels of negative symptoms independent of deficits in neurocognition, affect recognition and defeatist beliefs. Participants were 53 adults with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Prior to entry into a rehabilitation program, all participants completed concurrent assessments of metacognition with the Metacognitive Assessment Scale-Abbreviated, negative symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, neurocognition with the MATRICS battery, affect recognition with the Bell Lysaker Emotion Recognition Task, and one form of defeatist beliefs with the Recovery Assessment Scale. Negative symptoms were then reassessed one week, 9weeks, and 17weeks after entry into the program. A mixed effects regression model revealed that after controlling for baseline negative symptoms, a general index of neurocognition, defeatist beliefs and capacity for affect recognition, lower levels of metacognition predicted higher levels of negative symptoms across all subsequent time points. Poorer metacognition was able to predict later levels of elevated negative symptoms even after controlling for initial levels of negative symptoms. Results may suggest that metacognitive deficits are a risk factor for elevated levels of negative symptoms in the future. Clinical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]