Time-varying associations between daily skills practice and affect in a mindfulness and positive psychology-based intervention for early psychosis.
The British journal of clinical psychology May 1, 2025 Bryan J Stiles, Aslıhan İmamoğlu, Tate F Halverson et al.
A randomized controlled trial compared Integrated Coping Awareness Therapy (I-CAT), which combines mindfulness and positive psychological interventions, with treatment-as-usual (TAU) for 38 young adults with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Over 9 months, participants reported daily positive and negative affect. I-CAT and TAU did not differ in their overall impact on daily affect. However, among I-CAT recipients, daily practice of positive coping skills was linked to better daily affective outcomes, while mindfulness practice was associated with poorer affective outcomes during certain phases. The findings suggest that specific components of I-CAT, particularly positive coping skills practice, may improve daily emotional well-being in this population.