Treatment delay in first-episode nonaffective psychosis: a pilot study with African American family members and the theory of planned behavior

This pilot study examined associations between three central constructs of the theory of planned behavior and the length of treatment delay among patients hospitalized for a first episode of nonaffective psychosis. The sample consisted of 21 relatives directly involved in initiating hospitalization for 14 first-episode patients. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to test associations between length of treatment delay and the hypothesized predictors. One of the 3 theory of planned behavior constructs, perceived behavioral control (PBC), was significantly inversely correlated with treatment delay (ρ = −0.44, P = .04). The other 2 theory constructs were not significant correlates. Perceived stigma was significantly inversely correlated with PBC (ρ = −0.51, P = .02). There has been no prior research using health behavior theories to study potential predictors of treatment delay or the duration of untreated psychosis. Findings from this pilot study indicate that some health behavior theory constructs, including PBC, may be useful in future early intervention efforts.