title: Adolescents at risk of psychosis have higher level of hopelessness than adolescents not at risk of psychosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hopelessness has been a widely studied phenomenon in psychotic disorders. However, previous evidence of hopelessness in at-risk state of psychosis is lacking. The primary aim of the present study was to investigate associations between at-risk state of psychosis and the level of hopelessness, the secondary aim being to investigate, at item-level, hopelessness differences in hopelessness profile of adolescents at risk of psychosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hopelessness was assessed with the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and risk of psychosis with the PROD screen by an early detection team at the Helsinki University Central Hospital in a sample of 200 help-seeking adolescents between 11 and 22 years of age. Of them, 66 were classified as belonging to the at-risk of psychosis group and 134 to the not-at-risk of psychosis group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The at-risk group scored higher in total sum scores of hopelessness than the not-at-risk group (9.15 vs. 6.63, P = 0.002). In an additional analysis of the BHS, the sub-item "I have great faith in the future" (P < 0.001) differed by risk status of psychosis after correction for multiple analysis. In a logistic regression analysis, BHS subfactor III (sum scores of items "I can't imagine what my life would be like in 10 years" and "I don't expect to get what I really want") explained (P = 0.047) the at-risk status of psychosis after age, gender and other BHS subfactors had been adjusted for.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adolescents at risk of psychosis have higher hopelessness than other help-seekers. In light of a heightened possibility of suicidal behaviour, psychiatric care should pay attention to these findings.
authors.affiliation: Helsinki University Central Hospital, Jorvi Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Turuntie 150, 02740 Espoo, Finland. niklas.grano@hus.fi
authors.forename: Niklas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Granö
authors.forename: Marjaana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karjalainen
authors.forename: Virve
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Edlund
authors.forename: Erkki
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saari
authors.forename: Arja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Itkonen
authors.forename: Jukka
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anto
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roine
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult