Effect of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Patients with Early-Onset Schizophrenia

Objective: To study the clinical effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy to one-onone treatment on patients with early-onset schizophrenia.

Methods: Totally, 133 patients with early-onset schizophrenia admitted to the Department of Psychiatry of our hospital from September 2020 to September 2023 were selected and divided into a control group and an observation group according to whether group behavioral cognitive therapy was performed. The general demographic data of the patients were collected, and the propensity score matching method was used to balance the baseline data of the 2 groups. The Positive and negative syndrome scale, Personal and Social Performance Scale, severity of illness (SI), and efficacy index (EI) were compared between the 2 groups after matching.

Results: After matching, 72 patients were included in our study. Compared to the control group, observation group PANSS score were decreased including after intervention (P > .05). Both groups showed a decrease between before and after treatments. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale reduction rate after treatment and total response rate were increased in the observation group (P <.001). Personal and Social Performance Scale of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scores were higher than those of the control group. In the CGI scores, there is a significant difference that SI scores were lower in the observation group (P=.002), while EI scores were higher (P <.001).

Conclusion: Group cognitive behavioral therapy is beneficial to the improvement of mental symptoms and disease severity, social function, and curative effect, which is advocated and popularized.

Cite this article as: Hu J, Geng B, Song Y, et al. Effect of group cognitive behavioral therapy on patients with early-onset schizophrenia. Alpha Psychiatry. 2024;25(3):407-412.