Assessment and Evolution of Narrative Identity and Its Relationship to Subjective Multidimensional Well-being and Multidimensional Recovery in First Episode Psychosis

First episode psychosis (FEP) constitutes an important subgroup within psychotic disorders, as the acute impact of a disorder at the time of diagnosis may differ from its long-term impact over the following decades. Narrative is identified as a sense of personal agency, of belonging to a social group, metacognition, and well-being. Patients with schizophrenia have lower levels of agency and communion compared to HIV-positive participants. However, the themes of agency and communion and metacognition do not reflect all factors representing narrative identity. In order to measure well-being, it is also necessary to introduce a specific and multidimensional measure that will allow a more precise understanding of the phenomenon.

In FEP, a link has been demonstrated between the specificity of self-recollection and functional outcomes. Given that the transitional developmental stage between adolescence and adulthood is a key developmental window for narrative identity as well as psychotic disorders and that narrative identity is positively associated with mental health, this study will therefore focus on the acquisition of narrative identity in the FEP. It will investigate the extent to which narrative identity has an impact on multidimensional subjective well-being and whether it can predict multidimensional subjective well-being over time. The study investigators hypothesize that the levels of the various components of narrative identity would be lower in cases of FEP compared to patients with other "chronic" psychotic conditions and controls.