Impulsivity as a predictor of clinical and psychological outcomes in a naturalistic prospective cohort of subjects at ultra-high risk (UHR) for psychosis from Tunisia
Fekih-Romdhane, Feten Ghrissi, Farah Abassi, Bouthaini Loch, Alexandre Cherif, Wissal Damak, Rahma Ellini, Sana Cheour, Majda Hallit, Souheil
Fekih-Romdhane, Feten
Ghrissi, Farah
Abassi, Bouthaini
Loch, Alexandre
Cherif, Wissal
Damak, Rahma
Ellini, Sana
Cheour, Majda
Hallit, Souheil
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2024-08-07
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Abstract
Background: Impulsivity is associated with serious detrimental consequences on physical, mental, behavioral and social aspects of health among patients with psychosis. The present prospective 12-month follow-up study aimed to determine the prevalence of highly impulsive individuals among Ultra High Risk (UHR) patients, how impulsivity evolves over the follow-up period, and whether impulsivity impacts clinical, psychological and functional outcomes in this population. Method: UHR patients were invited to complete a battery of measurements at three-time points: at baseline, and at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Impulsivity was assessed using both behavioral (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST) and self-report (the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, BIS-11) measures. Results: Findings showed that at 6 months of follow-up, higher 6-month BIS-11 attentional and motor impulsivity were significantly associated with lower quality of life and greater general psychological distress. In addition, higher baseline BIS-11 motor impulsivity significantly predicted more severe positive psychotic symptoms at 12 months of follow-up. However, WCST scores did not show any significant associations with study variables at the different times of follow-up. Conclusion: Interventions targeting impulsivity in UHR individuals could help decrease psychological distress and positive psychotic symptoms’ severity, as well as improve quality of life in UHR individuals.