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.