title: Psychosis risk screening with the Prodromal Questionnaire--brief version (PQ-B).
abstract: In this study, we examined the preliminary concurrent validity of a brief version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-B), a self-report screening measure for psychosis risk syndromes. Adolescents and young adults (N=141) who presented consecutively for clinical assessment to one of two early psychosis research clinics at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Los Angeles completed the PQ-B and the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) at intake. Endorsement of three or more positive symptoms on the PQ-B differentiated between those with prodromal syndrome and psychotic syndrome diagnoses on the SIPS versus those with no SIPS diagnoses with 89% sensitivity, 58% specificity, and a positive Likelihood Ratio of 2.12. A Distress Score measuring the distress or impairment associated with endorsed positive symptoms increased the specificity to 68%, while retaining similar sensitivity of 88%. Agreement was very similar when participants with psychotic syndromes were excluded from the analyses. These results suggest that the PQ-B may be used as an effective, efficient self-report screen for prodromal psychosis syndromes when followed by diagnostic interview, in a two-stage evaluation process in help-seeking populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143-0984, United States. RLoewy@Lppi.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Rachel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Loewy
authors.forename: Rahel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vinogradov
authors.forename: Carrie E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Bearden
authors.forename: Tyrone D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Cannon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult