Three-year follow-up of suicide prevention-focused group therapy for veterans.

The purpose of this study was to determine the long-term effects of a suicide prevention-focused group therapy for veterans recently discharged from an inpatient psychiatry setting following a suicidal crisis. There was interest in examining the impact of mechanisms of change identified in previous research on the group, including group cohesion, working alliance, and group sessions attended. Data were abstracted from the electronic medical record 3 years following completion of a previous study that involved the group therapy. A series of generalized linear and logistic mixed models were conducted to measure the associations between group cohesion, working alliance, session attendance, and health service utilization and suicide attempts. Thirty randomly selected veterans from the original sample completed a semistructured interview to discuss their experience in the group therapy. Study team members reviewed each transcription to identify themes related to veterans' experiences in the suicide prevention-focused group therapy. No suicides were observed in the 3-year follow-up period. When examining the full sample (N = 134), session attendance and inpatient hospitalization were not significantly associated but were positively associated after removing subjects who attended zero sessions (N = 93). Higher group cohesion was associated with a reduced likelihood of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization and greater engagement in outpatient mental health services. Four themes emerged regarding veterans' experience in the group through an analysis of the semistructured interviews. Suicide prevention-focused group therapy among veteran service members was not associated with an elevated risk of mortality. Future research is needed to further elucidate mechanisms of change and moderators of response. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Can in utero Zika virus exposure be a risk factor for schizophrenia in the offspring?

Objectives: Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric illness that has been purported to be causally related to in utero infection of neurotropic organisms. For obvious ethical reasons, this hypothesis has never been tested prospectively in humans. However, with the recent introduction of Zika virus into the New World offers the opportunity to test the hypothesis of infection in schizophrenia.Methods: This is a directed review examining the hypothesis. The literature relevant to Zika virus transmission in the New World, its biology and neurotropy is reviewed.Results: Zika virus has been associated with a wide variety of neural tube and neuroanatomical abnormalities. In its original range, Zika is only infrequently associated with congenital anomalies, but in the New World, where the majority of the population has not developed immunity, infections are associated with a wide range of neurologic abnormalities.Conclusions: The current outbreak of Zika virus in the Western Hemisphere, offers the opportunity to prospectively examine the congenital infection hypothesis of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.