In the early psychosis field there has been a major focus on those at clinical high risk for psychosis. Despite the fact that the majority of mental illnesses arise in youth, and early treatment of mental health issues is vital to reducing poor outcomes, less attention has been paid to understanding the risk for serious mental illness (SMI), which includes psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and recurrent major depression. The Canadian Psychiatric Risk and Outcome Study (PROCAN) is a longitudinal study investigating the clinical, social, and neurobiological factors that may lead to SMI in youth, with the aim of developing an algorithm that can predict which youth will move from undifferentiated symptoms to a diagnosable mental illness. PROCAN is currently following 243 young people (aged 12-25) who may be at risk for the later development of SMI. This symposium will present various aspects of PROCAN. The first talk presents the staging model developed by McGorry and Hickie, used in PROCAN and the recruitment and retention strategies to identify these young at-risk individuals. The second talk presents the baseline differences in clinical symptomatology, neurocognition and social and role functioning between youth in the different stages and how they compare to healthy controls. The third talk discusses the impact of familial relationship styles on mental health and examines the stage-related differences in family functioning and communication. The fourth talk outlines the functional brain imaging measures that have been used in PROCAN and presents data outlining differences in brain activity at baseline.
