Enhancing stress reactivity and wellbeing in early schizophrenia: A randomized controlled trial of Integrated Coping Awareness Therapy (I-CAT)

SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH

卷:235

Article

Halverson, Tate F.¹  Meyer-Kalos, Piper S.²  Perkins, Diana O.³  Gaylord, Susan A.⁴  Palsson, Olafur S.⁵  Nye, Lana⁶  Algoe, Sara B.¹  Grewen, Karen³  Penn, David L.^1,7 

[1] Univ N Carolina, Dept Psychol & Neurosci, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 USA

[2] Univ Minnesota, Sch Med, Dept Psychiat & Behav Sci, Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA

[3] Univ N Carolina, Dept Psychiat, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 USA

[4] Univ N Carolina, Dept Phys Med & Rehabil, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 USA

[5] Univ N Carolina, Dept Med, Chapel Hill, NC 27515 USA

[6] Univ Utah, Coll Social Work, Salt Lake City, UT USA

[7] Australian Catholic Univ, Sch Behav & Hlth Sci, Brisbane, Qld, Australia

关键词: First episode psychosis;    Early intervention;    Mindfulness;    Positive psychology;    Stress reactivity;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.schres.2021.07.022

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) are at heightened risk for exposure to stressful life events which can lead to increased sensitivity to stress and a dysregulated stress response, which are in turn associated with poor long-term functioning. Stress reactivity is thus a promising treatment target in the early stages of SSD. Integrated-Coping Awareness Therapy (I-CAT) is a manualized intervention integrating mindfulness and positive psychology to target a dysregulated stress response in SSD. The current study is a preliminary randomized-controlled trial (RCT) comparing I-CAT (n = 18) with treatment as usual (TAU; n = 18) in individuals in the early stages of SSD. I-CAT was hypothesized to be more effective than TAU on primary outcomes: increasing positive emotions, decreasing negative emotions, reducing stress, and improving functioning and quality of life; and secondary outcomes: reducing symptoms, increasing mindfulness, and improving overall wellbeing. Excellent therapy attendance rates, low study attrition, and positive participant feedback demonstrated that I-CAT was a feasible and well-tolerated psychosocial intervention. Results suggest I-CAT led to greater reduction in symptoms (i.e., overall, negative, and disorganized symptoms), increased observational mindfulness, increased endorsement of a sense of purpose in life, and preservation of work abilities and school social functioning compared with TAU. Future work should replicate and extend these findings in a larger-scale RCT.

【 授权许可】

Free