MEXICAN STUDY ON THE FIRST PSYCHOTIC EPIS ODE - PRELIMINARY-RESULTS, SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS

This research describes the clinical and social-demographic characteri stics of a group of patients going through their first psychotic episo de. Methodology: Fifty patients that arrived at a mental health instit ution for the first time, due to their first psychotic episode were in cluded. The diagnosis was made by means of the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry in its Spanish version (SCAN). The socio demographic data was obtained by a specific format with the applicatio n of the Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia Scale, togeth er with other scales. The specific symptoms were evaluated for each sp ecific illness. Results: A predominant sample in females (n = 26, 52%) was obtained. The mean age of the total sample was 28 years. This stu dy confirms that in males the psychotic episodes develop at an earlier age during a prolonged time. The schizophrenic patients were mainly u nemployed and single and showed an early development of the psychiatri c problem. The personality disorders of Cluster A were more common in schizophrenic patients. The severity of the pathology was similar in t he diagnosis group. Conclusion: The findings in this study are similar to other studies which suggest a better understanding and knowledge o f the psychotic disorders, and which provide an updated and simple gui de on the growing information in therapeutic research.