The Strauss and Carpenter Prognostic Scale in subjects clinically at high risk of psychosis
Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 07/11/2012

Nieman DH et al. – The Strauss and Carpenter Prognostic Scale (SCPS) could make a valuable contribution to a more accurate prediction of psychosis in clinically at high risk subjects as a second–step tool. SCPS items assessing quality of useful work and social relations, positive symptoms and subjective distress have predictive value for transition.

• Two hundred and forty-four CHR subjects participating in the European Prediction of Psychosis Study were assessed with the SCPS, an instrument that has been shown to predict outcome in patients with schizophrenia reliably.

• At 18-month follow-up, 37 participants had made the transition to psychosis.
• The SCPS total score was predictive of a first psychotic episode (P < 0.0001).
• SCPS items that remained as independent predictors in the Cox proportional hazard model were as follows: most usual quality of useful work in the past year (P = 0.006), quality of social relations (P = 0.006), presence of thought disorder, delusions or hallucinations in the past year (P = 0.001) and reported severity of subjective distress in past month (P = 0.003).