In Brief Psychotic Disorder, the relapse rate is best described as more than 50%.

• A. Less than 10%
• B. About 25%
• C. About 75%
• D. More than 50%

Answer: (D)

Relapse risk after an initial brief psychotic episode is notably high. Brief psychotic disorder involves a sudden onset of psychotic symptoms that lasts at least one day but less than a month, with full remission. Even after symptoms fully resolve, many individuals experience another psychotic event later, and recurrence estimates commonly exceed 50% over follow-up periods such as a year. This reflects that while the episode itself is transient, there’s an underlying vulnerability that can be re-triggered by stress or other factors, making more than half at risk for future episodes. The other options underestimate or misstate the likelihood: less than 10% or about 25% would imply relapse is rare, which isn’t supported, while about 75% would imply an unrealistically high recurrence rate for most patients. In practice, this awareness guides ongoing monitoring and support after recovery to help reduce the chance of another episode.