How can you distinguish substance-induced psychotic disorder from a primary psychotic disorder?

• A. Substance-induced psychosis is temporally linked to substance use and may resolve with cessation; assessment uses timeline of intoxication and withdrawal
• B. It is always chronic and progressive
• C. It is indistinguishable from primary psychosis
• D. It never resolves

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that substance-induced psychotic disorder is defined by a clear temporal link to substance use and typically improves once the substance is stopped. When you assess someone with psychotic symptoms, you map out exactly when the symptoms began in relation to intoxication or withdrawal, and you track how they change with cessation. If the psychotic symptoms occur during intoxication or withdrawal and they tend to resolve after stopping the substance, that supports a substance-induced pattern. If the symptoms persist beyond the period of intoxication or withdrawal, or occur independent of substance use, you’d consider a primary psychotic disorder or another explanation.

This is why the option describing a temporal connection to substance use and resolution with cessation is the best answer. The other statements—being always chronic and progressive, being indistinguishable from primary psychosis, or never resolving—do not fit the typical pattern of substance-induced psychosis and miss the crucial link to the substance and its cessation.