Early Medication Adherence and Insight Change in First-Episode Psychosis

Abstract

Objective: Adherence to treatment is a determining factor for symptomatic remission and relapse prevention following a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Risk factors for poor adherence have consistently involved a lack of insight. While insight can improve considerably during the first months of treatment, little is known about the relation between early change in insight and medication adherence. Method: Eighty-eight FEP participants were rated on insight and positive, negative, depressive, and anxious symptoms at baseline and at six months following admission. Insight was measured with the Scale to assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder. FEP participants were categorized as a function of their medication adherence at six months into poor (n=16), partial (n=11) and full-adherence (n=61) groups. Results: No significant group differences in insight emerged at baseline. However, at six months, the poor-adherence group displayed worse insight relative to the partial-adherence group, while the full-adherence g...