Attenuated Psychosis Syndromes Among Nigerian Youth and Young Adults: Early Identification and Intervention

Abstract

The Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS) is associated mostly with the years of adolescence and young adulthood and was listed as a category for further study in DSM-5. This chapter discusses the APS from a Nigerian (African) perspective, highlighting the few available studies on symptomatology, cultural beliefs, help-seeking behavior, psychosocial challenges, as well as existing approaches to assessment and intervention. With respect to each of these areas, there is a clear paucity of data, and each aspect represents areas requiring further study, in Nigeria specifically but also in Africa as a whole. The barriers to care buttress the need for public enlightenment as well as efforts to scale up services for APS at the primary care level. One approach could involve developing a program exclusively for APS. The chapter also presents a case of APS presenting at a specialist tertiary facility, who then progressed to clinical psychosis. While data on progression is lacking in this environment, studies from other clinics make it likely that only a small proportion of cases will progress in this way; the factors associated with progression also remain poorly studied. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)