OBJECTIVES:  Younger patients with recent onset schizophrenia may value different treatment goals than patients with longer experience of the disease. We developed and tested a unique stated-preference instrument to prioritize multiple treatment goals among patients with recent onset schizophrenia. METHODS:  A best-worst scaling instrument (BWS) was developed based on a targeted review of the literature. Pre-testing interviews were conducted in the UK, Italy, and Germany among patients with recent onset schizophrenia (aged 18 to 35 who were diagnosed with schizophrenia within the past 5 years). The instrument involves rating the importance of 13 key treatment goals, which were identified based on a review of previous patient preference studies in schizophrenia. Patients completed the online survey in their native language, followed by a cognitive debriefing interview. The interviews were transcribed, and the data were analyzed by two researchers to assess patients’ understanding of the survey and the validity of the content. RESULTS:  Five pre-test interviews were conducted in each country. Across the 15 respondents the average age was 31.3