Openness to experience shortens duration of untreated psychosis in Serbian clinical population

Aim: To determine duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders from Serbia and to analyse factors that potentially contribute to the treatment delay, with focus on personality traits. Methods: Fifty seven patients (males 54.4%; age = 29.9 ± 6.0 yrs; age at the illness onset = 24.9 ± 5.1 yrs; IQ = 93.5 ± 12.2) were included. The assessment consisted of Nottingham Onset Schedule (NOS), Premorbid Adjustment Scale (PAS) and NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R). We used Cox regression model to evaluate relationship between DUP and explanatory variables. Results: Based on the most restrictive definition, the length of DUP in our sample was 77.8 ± 120.6 weeks (MED = 25.0 weeks). DUP was negatively associated with openness to experience (B = −0.804, P = 0.024). Conclusions: We report the first evidence of DUP in Serbia, emphasizing that the personality domains are likely to impact the use of mental health care in persons with psychosis.