Thought Suppression in Primary Psychotic Disorders and Substance/Medication Induced Psychotic Disorder.

Cosmin O Popa,Vitalie Vacaras,Eliza Sirbu,Simona Muresan,Simona Szasz,Cristiana Cojocaru,Wesley C Lee,Adrian V Rus,Alina Schenk,Petronela Blaga,Alexander Clark,Cristina Bredicean,Razvan Predatu

doi:10.3390/ijerph18010116

Abstract

Introduction: First episode-psychosis (FEP) represents a stressful/traumatic event for patients. To our knowledge, no study to date has investigated thought suppression involved in FEP in a Romanian population. Our objective was to investigate thought suppression occurring during FEP within primary psychotic disorders (PPD) and substance/medication induced psychotic disorders (SMIPD). Further, we examined the relationship between thought suppression and negative automatic thoughts within PPD and SMIPD. Methods: The study included 30 participants (17 females) with PPD and 25 participants (10 females) with SMIPD. Psychological scales were administered to assess psychotic symptoms and negative automatic thoughts, along a psychiatric clinical interview and a biochemical drug test. Results: Participants in the PPD group reported higher thought suppression compared to SMIPD group. For the PPD group, results showed a positive correlation between thought suppression and automatic thoughts. For the SMIPD group, results also showed a positive correlation between thought suppression and automatic thoughts. Conclusions: Patients with PPD rely more on thought suppression, as opposed to SMIPD patients. Thought suppression may be viewed as an unhealthy reaction to FEP, which is associated with the experience of negative automatic thoughts and might be especially problematic in patients with PPD. Cognitive behavioral therapy is recommended to decrease thought suppression and improve patients’ functioning.

Highlights

According to the DSM-5, psychotic disorders are debilitating psychiatric disorders, in which the patient loses touch with reality, has delusional ideation, auditory and sometimes even visual hallucinations, disorganized thinking/speech, extremely abnormal behavior, as well as negative symptoms [1]
Results revealed that there were no significant differences between participants in the primary psychotic disorders (PPD) group and those in the substance/medication induced psychotic disorders (SMIPD) group with respect to gender (χ2 (1, N = 55) = 1.51, p = 0.169), education (χ2 (3, N = 55) = 5.62, p = 0.131), or days of hospitalization (t (53) = −1.60, p > 0.05), with the exception of age, which yielded a significant difference (t (53) = 2.56, p < 0.05)
To our knowledge, there are no studies to date which have explored thought suppression as a cognitive strategy used by patients with First episode-psychosis (FEP) in a Romanian population, in two nosologically different diagnoses, PPD and SMIPD

Summary

Introduction

According to the DSM-5, psychotic disorders are debilitating psychiatric disorders, in which the patient loses touch with reality, has delusional ideation, auditory and sometimes even visual hallucinations, disorganized thinking/speech, extremely abnormal behavior, as well as negative symptoms [1]. Patients with SMIPD are less likely to have a family history of psychosis, have higher levels of insight, show more severe hostility or anxiety than those with PPD, and they are more likely to have a forensic history, a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, or trauma histories [2]. In addition to their history, SMPID patients most likely had an unsupportive family coupled with parents who struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. Patients with PDD and SMIPD present a separate clinical picture with different precipitating factors, and different symptoms may be related to a different experience of control, varying levels of experienced distress, and different coping mechanisms employed (cognitive and behavioral) by patients [8,9]

Objectives

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion