Schizophrenia in College students

Key things to know What the evidence shows
How common is it? Not established strict college-specific schizophrenia prevalence
Is it more common among college students? Age overlaps strongly with typical onset window
Are college students at higher risk? Developmentally strong association because typical onset is late adolescence/young adulthood
How much higher is the risk? NE
How often can it be missed? Very high
Does it show up differently among college students? Strong Yes
How might it look different? Academic decline, social withdrawal, unusual beliefs/perceptions, disrupted sleep, reduced self-care and substance use may accompany first episode
What commonly occurs alongside it? Substance use; depression/anxiety; suicidality
What can it be confused with? Cannabis/substance-induced psychosis; bipolar disorder; severe depression; brief psychotic disorder
Common screening tool PQ-16 self-assessment → clinical evaluation
Separate screening tool for college students Youth/young-adult psychosis-risk instruments
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