The authors noted that using the PS-R and CGPS-R as a first-step assessment tool, with a combined threshold of four items rated at five or six, could have reduced clinician workload in conducting the Structured Interview for Psychosis Risk Syndromes by half (fully evaluating 26 instead of 52 youths) while retaining 74% (20 of 27) of the positive cases.
Ms. Kline and her colleagues cited several study limitations, including the relatively small sample size. Still, the findings suggest that "soliciting caregiver information through a brief screening questionnaire can yield incremental value" toward predicting patients’ clinical high-risk status, they wrote.
The study was funded by several sources, including the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Baltimore Mental Health Systems. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.