New online tool for identifying emerging mental health problems in young people

For the first time, researchers have developed an online tool to help identify young people with emerging signs of mental health problems, such as psychosis. Nearly one third of the participants using the screening tool, which was created by researchers at the University of Glasgow's Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, were found to be at risk for developing psychosis. The findings, published today in Schizophrenia Bulletin, demonstrate that a web-based screening process could be an important strategy for early intervention and diagnosis of mental health problems in young people. The online tool is part of the MRC-funded Youth Mental Health Risk and Resilience Study (YouR Study), which was set up to help identify neurobiological mechanisms and predictors of psychosis risk. Psychosis is a mental health problem that causes people to perceive or interpret things differently from those around them, and might involve hallucinations or delusions. Psychosis can be caused by schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression. Psychosis affects 1-2% of people.