Navigating Adversity: Ethnoracial Discrimination, Family Support, and Psychotic Symptom Severity in US Latinx People with First Episode Psychosis.

Abstract

Introduction: Prior research has identified a link between discrimination and psychotic symptoms in community samples, yet less is known about potential protective factors particularly in the context of clinical samples of psychotic illness. The goal of this exploratory study was to examine the relationship between ethnoracial discrimination and symptom severity among U.S. Latinx people experiencing their first episode of psychosis (FEP). We were particularly interested in whether family support quality buffered the negative relationship between discrimination and symptomatology.

Methods: Data were taken from a longitudinal parent study assessing the effectiveness of a communication campaign on reducing duration of untreated illness among U.S. Latinx communities with FEP. A total of 43 participants with FEP were administered the study measures for the present study at baseline, including self-report survey on perceived discrimination, the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale clinical interview, and a qualitative interview measuring family support, which was analyzed using deductive methods. Independent samples t-tests and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted.

Results: Endorsement of ethnoracial discrimination was associated with greater positive and general symptoms, but not negative symptoms. Among those endorsing ethnoracial discrimination, family support buffered the association with negative and general symptoms, but not positive symptoms.

Conclusion: Family support could be a relevant mechanism to target the negative symptoms of psychosis and general psychopathology among Latinx people with FEP, particularly in the context of racialized stressors.