Turkey has the youngest population in Europe with about 25 million people aged below 19 years and Turkish-speaking people comprise the biggest migrant group in Europe with 2.5 million people dispersed in different countries, but conducting epidemiologic surveys on Turkish people is challenging due to the lack of a suitable diagnostic tool. The Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) is one of the most widely used diagnostic interviews in child and adolescent psychiatry. In this study, we aimed at translating the DAWBA into Turkish and then examined its validity and reliability.

The validity of the Turkish version was examined in clinical (n = 50) and community (n = 104) samples. The interrater reliability was also evaluated on 20 cases.

The translation method used in the study achieved semantic, conceptual, content, technical, item and criterion equivalence between the Turkish and original forms. The validity of the Turkish DAWBA was good or excellent for different diagnostic categories (κ: 0.43–0.84); the interrater reliability was also excellent (κ: 0.85–1).

The Turkish DAWBA may be useful for future prevalence studies in Turkey. European clinicians and researchers who work with Turkish-speaking families can use the online Turkish DAWBA to gather structured information from Turkish-speaking informants and review the answers in their own language.

The mounting evidence for effective delivery of psychological interventions by non-specialists in low- and middle-income settings has led to a rapid expansion of mental health and psychosocial support trainings globally. As such, there is a demand for strategies on how to train and implement these services to attain adequate quality. This study aims to evaluate the added value of a competency-driven approach to training of facilitators for a group intervention for children with severe emotional distress in Lebanon.

In a controlled before and after study, 24 trainees were randomly allocated to participate in either a competency-driven training (CDT) or training-as-usual (TAU) (1 : 1) for a psychological intervention for children with severe emotional distress. We assessed the change in demonstrated competencies, using standardised role-plays, before and after the training. Measures included the 13-item Working with children-Assessment of Competencies Tool (WeACT), the 15-item ENhancing Assessment of Common Therapeutic factors (ENACT) and the 6-item Group facilitation: Assessment of Competencies Tool (GroupACT). The trainer in the experimental arm used pre-training and during training competency assessment scores to make real-time adjustment to training delivery. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, all activities were done remotely.

CDT resulted in significantly better outcomes on increasing competencies on the WeACT (repeated measures analysis of variance; F(1, 22) = 6.49, p < 0.018) and on the GroupACT (Mann–Whitney U = 22, p < 0.003), though not statistically significant on the ENACT. There is no significant between-group difference on the reduction of harmful behaviours, mainly because both forms of training appear equally successful in eliminating such behaviours.

This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the potential of CDT, using standardised assessment of trainee competencies, to contribute to better training outcomes without extending the duration of training. CDT can result in up to 18% greater increase in adequate competency, when compared to TAU. The study also yields recommendations for further enhancing the benefits of competency-driven strategies. A fully powered trial is needed to confirm these findings.

There is a lack of mental health promotion and treatment services targeting HIV-positive men who have sex with men (HIVMSM) in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mental health promotion efficacy of an online intervention that combined Three Good Things (TGT) with electronic social networking (TGT-SN) and an intervention that used TGT only (TGT-only), compared with a control group.

We conducted a randomised controlled trial among HIVMSM in Chengdu, China. The participants were randomly assigned to the TGT-SN, TGT-only, and control groups. The participants in the TGT-SN group were divided into five social network groups and asked to post brief messages to the group about three good things that they had experienced and for which they felt grateful. The participants in the TGT-only group were only required to write down their three good things daily without sharing them with others. The control group received information about mental health promotion once a week for a month. The primary outcome was probable depression. Secondary outcomes were anxiety, positive and negative affect, gratitude, happiness and social support. These outcomes were assessed at baseline, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after the intervention. Repeated-measures analyses were conducted using generalised estimation equations. The study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-TRC-13003252).

Between June 2013 and May 2015, 404 participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the TGT-SN (n = 129), TGT-only (n = 139) or control group (n = 136). The main effects of TGT-SN (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.75, 95% CI 0.52–1.09; p = 0.131) and TGT-only (aOR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.57–1.21; p = 0.332) in reducing depression were statistically non-significant. The participants of the TGT-SN group showed significantly lower anxiety symptoms (aOR = 0.62, 95% CI 0.43–0.89; p = 0.009) and negative affect (β = −1.62, 95% CI 2.98 to −0.26; p = 0.019) over time compared with those of the control group. No significant main effect was found for any secondary outcomes for the TGT-only group.

The novel intervention combining the TGT exercise with electronic social networking was found effective in reducing anxiety and negative affect among HIVMSM.

To identify the predictors of psychotropic medication use and to determine rates and patterns of use in Northern Ireland (NI) among the general population and various subgroups.

Analysis of data from the NI Study of Health and Stress, a representative household survey undertaken between 2004 and 2008 with 4340 individuals. Respondents were asked about prescribed psychotropic medication use in the previous 12 months along with a series of demographic questions and items regarding experience of traumatic life events. Mental health disorders were assessed using the World Health Organization's Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

Females, individuals aged 50–64 years old, those who were previously married, and those who had experienced a traumatic lifetime event were more likely to have taken any psychotropic medication. Use of any psychotropic medication in the population in the previous 12 months was 14.9%. Use among individuals who met the criteria for a 12-month mental health disorder was 38.5%. Almost one in ten individuals (9.4%) had taken an antidepressant.

Compared with other countries, NI has high proportions of individuals using psychotropic medication in both the general population and those who met the criteria for a 12-month mental disorder. However, these results still suggest possible under treatment of mental disorders in the country. In addition, rates of use in those with no disorder are relatively high. The predictors of medication use are similar to findings in other countries. Possible research and policy implications are discussed.

Compared with the general population, individuals with schizophrenia have a higher risk of periodontal disease, which can potentially reduce their life expectancy. However, evidence for the early development of periodontal disease in schizophrenia is scant. The current study investigated risk factors for periodontal disease in patients newly diagnosed with schizophrenia.

We identified a population-based cohort of patients in Taiwan with newly diagnosed schizophrenia who developed periodontal disease within 1 year of their schizophrenia diagnosis. Treatment with antipsychotics and other medications was categorised according to medication type and duration, and the association between medication use and the treated periodontal disease was assessed through logistic regression.

Among 3610 patients with newly diagnosed schizophrenia, 2373 (65.7%) had an incidence of treated periodontal disease during the 1-year follow-up. Female sex (adjusted odds ratios [OR] 1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20–1.63); young age (adjusted OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.98–0.99); a 2-year history of periodontal disease (adjusted OR 2.45; 95% CI 1.84–3.26); high income level (adjusted OR 2.24; 95% CI 1.64–3.06) and exposure to first-generation (adjusted OR 1.89; 95% CI 1.54–2.32) and secondary-generation (adjusted OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.11–1.58) antipsychotics, anticholinergics (adjusted OR 1.24; 95% CI 1.03–1.50) and antihypertensives (adjusted OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.64–2.23) were independent risk factors for periodontal disease. Hyposalivation – an adverse effect of first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) (adjusted OR 2.00; 95% CI 1.63–2.45), anticholinergics (adjusted OR 1.27; 95% CI 1.05–1.53) and antihypertensives (adjusted OR 1.90; 95% CI 1.63–2.22) – was associated with increased risk of periodontal disease. Therefore, hypersalivation due to FGA use (adjusted OR 0.72; 95% CI 0.59–0.88) was considered a protective factor.

The current study highlights that early prevention of periodontal disease in individuals with schizophrenia is crucial. Along with paying more attention to the development of periodontal disease, assessing oral health regularly, helping with oral hygiene, and lowering consumption of sugary drinks and tobacco, emphasis should also be given by physicians to reduce the prescription of antipsychotics to the extent possible under efficacious pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia.

This study assessed the relationships between different perpetrator-victim roles in intimate partner violence (IPV), emotion regulation (ER) and mental health problems among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China.

From April to June 2019, 1233 participants were approached via gay-friendly non-governmental organisations in 15 cities across mainland China.

Of the total, 578 eligible participants completed an anonymous online survey. All participants provided informed consent and information about their violent perpetrator-victim role and mental health status. The results revealed a high prevalence of IPV in this study sample, with 32.7% of participants reporting IPV victimisation and 32.5% of participants reporting IPV perpetration during their lifetime. A total of 81 (14.0%) participants were suicidal, 309 (53.5%) participants reported poor general mental health and 208 (36.0%) had significant depressive symptoms. Adjusted logistic regression models revealed that both physical victimisation (adjusted odds ratio [ORa] = 3.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11–9.32) and sexual victimisation (ORa = 2.90, 95% CI = 1.39–6.05) had positive associations with suicidality, and unidirectional and bidirectional psychological perpetration were associated with poor general mental health and significant depressive symptoms. Although high cognitive reappraisal showed a negative association with poor general mental health (ORa = 0.89，95% CI = 0.86–0.92), the correlation with victims of IPV was weaker than it was with non-victims.

This study revealed that different perpetrator-victim roles in different IPV situations should be considered comprehensively in research, prevention and intervention. ER is not enough to buffer the effects of IPV on the mental health of MSM victims.

Emerging evidence suggests that psychiatric labels may facilitate help seeking in young people. This study examined whether young people's use of accurate labels for five disorders would predict their help-seeking preferences.

Young people's help-seeking intentions were assessed by a national telephone survey of 3021 Australian youths aged 15–25. Respondents were presented with a vignette of a young person portraying depression, depression with suicidal thoughts, psychosis, social phobia or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They were then asked what they thought was wrong with the person, and where they would go for help if they had a similar problem.

Accurate psychiatric label use was associated with a preference to seek help from a general practitioner or mental health specialist. Accurately labelling the psychosis vignette was also associated with a preference to not seek help from family or friends.

Findings add to the emerging evidence that accurate psychiatric labelling may facilitate help seeking for various mental disorders in young people, and support the promise of community awareness campaigns designed to improve young people's ability to accurately identify mental disorders.

Cross-cultural studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (CPTSD) based on ICD-11 diagnostic criteria are scarce, especially in adolescence. The study aimed to evaluate the trauma exposure, prevalence and factors associated with PTSD and CPTSD in general populations of adolescents in Lithuania and Japan.

The study sample comprised 1746 adolescents from Lithuania (n = 832) and Japan (n = 914), 49.8% female. The mean age of study participants was 15.52 (s.d. = 1.64), ranging from 12 to 18 years. ICD-11 posttraumatic disorders were assessed using the International Trauma Questionnaire – Child and Adolescent version (ITQ-CA).

More than half of the adolescents in a total sample (61.5%) reported exposure to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, 80.0% in Lithuania and 44.6% in Japan, with a higher prevalence of interpersonal trauma in Lithuania and more natural disaster exposure in Japan. The prevalence of PTSD was 5.2% (95% CI 3.8–6.9%) and 2.3% (95% CI 1.4–3.5%), CPTSD 12.3% (95% CI 10.1–14.7%) and 4.1% (95% CI 2.9–5.5%) in Lithuanian and Japanese samples, respectively. Cumulative trauma exposure, female gender, loneliness and financial difficulties in family predicted both PTSD and CPTSD in the total sample. Loneliness discriminated CPTSD v. PTSD in both Lithuanian and Japanese samples.

This cross-cultural study is among the first which reported different patterns of trauma exposure in Asian Japanese and Lithuanian adolescents in Europe. Despite differences in trauma exposure and PTSD/CPTSD prevalence, we found similar predictors in both studies, particularly the importance of cumulative trauma exposure for PTSD/CPTSD, and social interpersonal factors for the risk of CPTSD. The study supports the universality of traumatic stress reactions to adverse life experiences in adolescence across cultures and regions and highlights different levels of traumatisation of adolescents in various countries.

Heterogeneity of schizophrenia is known to be reflected in neuropsychological functioning of patients, but its expression in relatives is understudied. This study aims at exploring relationship between executive functioning and clinical profiles of first-degree relatives of patients who are classified as having or not having the deficit subtype of schizophrenia (DSRELs v. non-DSRELs), with the prediction of greater executive impairment in DSRELs.

DSRELs (n = 15) and non-DSRELs (n = 40) were compared with community controls (CCs, n = 55) on executive functioning measured by the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the phonemic verbal fluency (PVF), and clinical measures. Effects of psychopathology and intelligence quotient (IQ) measures were investigated to determine their association with executive performance.

DSRELs showed more executive dysfunction on WCST and poorer social functioning than CCs and more severe negative symptoms than non-DSRELs. Differences on WCST-categories achieved (WCST-CA) remained significant after adjustment for clinical confounders and IQ. WCST-CA was associated with apathy and paranoid ideation only within the DSREL subgroup.

Executive functioning and negative symptoms are severely impaired in first-degree relatives of deficit syndrome patients, thus suggesting that some neurocognitive deficits in patients may be transmitted within families according to the pathophysiology of the probands.