Background: It has been demonstrated that patients experiencing their first-episode of psychosis have social functioning deficits that are equivalent to those seen in patients with a more chronic course of illness. The purpose of this study is to examine social functioning over the course of the first year after admission to an early psychosis programme.
Method: The social functioning of 177 first-episode subjects was assessed on admission and 1 year later and compared with that of 40 non-psychiatric controls. Assessment measures included the Quality of Life Scale (QLS).
Results: At the 1-year follow-up there was significant improvement in quality of life. However, even those first-episode patients experiencing a remission from positive symptoms had lower QLS scores than the non-psychiatric controls.
Conclusions: These results are encouraging and supportive of early intervention. There is room for more improvement in the application and development of psychological interventions for these young patients.