Project Details
Enhancing educational and vocational recovery in adolescents and young adults with early psychosis through supported employment and education (SEE): A randomized controlled trial. Acronym: SEEearly
Applicant
Professor Dr. Andreas Bechdolf
Subject Area
Clinical Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Term
since 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 470569697
Psychotic disorders often develop a chronic course with devastating consequences for individuals, families and societies usually with first onset during adolescence and early adulthood. They belong to the ten illnesses causing the main contribution to the global burden of disease. Thereby, the low rates of completing secondary education and obtaining competitive employment represent the main burden in individuals and their families and account for the majority of the costs of the illness for societies However, most interventions in people with early psychosis focus on improving symptoms and relapse prevention, rather than targeting educational and vocational recovery. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to evaluate an intervention in people with early psychosis, which focuses on obtaining competitive work directly by employing supported employment and education (SEE) following the individual placement and support (IPS) model. The primary objective of the proposed study is to compare the effect of SEE and treatment as usual (TAU) on rates of competitive employment, apprenticeship, and competitive education in adolescents and young adults with early psychosis. The hypothesis is that adolescents and young adults with early psychosis who receive supported employment and education (SEE) in addition to Treatment-As-Usual (TAU) will show higher rates of participation steadily for at least 50% of the 12 month follow-up in competitive employment or/and mainstream education than those who only receive TAU alone. Secondary outcomes are (1) Days of competitive employment or/and mainstream education, (2) time to first competitive job or/and mainstream education (days), (3) income-related outcomes and completed examination/certificate or degree, (4) non-vocational outcomes: psychopathology, quality of life, substance use, relapse, hospitalization, functioning, (5) social return on investment. A prospective randomised controlled, single-blinded multicenter intervention trial with n=92 young adults (age between 16 and 35 years, incl. dropout rate) per group (SEE versus TAU) is proposed. As a sensitivity analysis to the primary efficacy, a logistic regression model adjusted for study site will be applied.
DFG Programme
Clinical Trials