Context:Psychiatry is given very less importance in the Indian undergraduate medical curriculum and this affects the attitudes of students toward psychiatry and mentally ill patients.Aim:To study the attitude of undergraduate medical students and interns toward psychiatry and mentally ill patients.Materials and Methods:Undergraduate medical students and interns of a private medical college and research institute in South India consented to form our sample. We studied the General Health Questionnaire, overall level of satisfaction in ongoing Medical course using Visual Analog Scale, attitudes toward psychiatry scale and the attitudes toward mentally ill patient's scale of the students, with their informed consent. SPSS version 18 was used for analysis of data.Results:Participation rate was 96%. Mean age of entire sample was 20.56 years. The total mean score on the General Health Questionnaire was 13.52 in first year but became worse toward internship (18.2). The level of satisfaction in the medical course dipped from 86% at baseline to 20% during internship. Equally high scores were noted in the attitude toward mentally ill scale. On the attitude toward psychiatry scale, there were more views on psychiatry as being an unscientific specialty, psychiatrists being considered poor role models, and psychiatric teaching was of low quality and psychiatry was the least preferred career choice.Conclusions:The undergraduate medical students have a very unfavorable attitude toward psychiatry and mentally ill patients.

Background:Evaluation of fund of knowledge about SLD among kindergarten and primary school teachers is essential to avoid misdiagnosis of SLD and to plan for specific teacher education to enable early identification of SLD among children.Aim:To assess the knowledge of learning disability among primary school teachers in India and to investigate its psychometric properties.Materials and Methods:An observational study was carried out 34 primary school teachers from 2 different schools in Puducherry town agreed to participate in this study with informed consent. We used a multiple choice questionnaire format with a total of 50 questions, 5 choices for each question and a total score of 50. The study was held at the schools where these teachers were employed using pen and paper testing method and data were entered into the computer for statistical analysis.Statistical Analysis:Total scores on the questionnaire of all teachers were calculated. Content validity, reliability coefficient, discrimination factor, and facility factor were analyzed using SPSS software.Results:29% of the questions were correctly answered by all 34 teachers. The mean total score for this sample was 14.50 ± 9 and total item score for the 50 items was 9.90 ± 4. Cronbach's (α) reliability was 0.89. Overall discrimination index was + 0.2 and facility factor analysis score was 0.26.Conclusions:Validation of this new screening questionnaire was successful in Indian setting. It has to be used in other settings to extrapolate our findings.

This study shows applicability of MFAS-24 in Indian settings also for measuring maternal-fetal attachment.

Background:The efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the treatment of depression has never been reported as yet in the Indian literature.Aims:To study the efficacy of rTMS in the treatment of depression and to evaluate its safety and tolerability.Settings and Design:A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore.Materials and Methods:23 patients with depression were randomized to receive either active (n=9) or sham (n=14) treatment with rTMS. Treatment consisted of six sessions of rTMS for 2 weeks (10 trains of pulses, intensity equal to motor threshold, 10 Hz frequency, train duration of 5 seconds, 1 minute inter-train duration). Response was assessed using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Clinical Global Index (CGI). The safety and tolerability was assessed with side-effect checklist for electroconvulsive therapy. 50% reduction in HDRS scores from baseline was defined as treatment response. Outcome measures were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance. Chi-square test was used to analyze the categorical variables.Results:No statistical significance was seen on the baseline socio-demographic and illness characteristics (Pearson's Chi-square=0.5). Although HDRS (sham 22.0-12.4; active 22.8-12.7) and MADRS (sham 30.7-17.3; active 31.8-16.7) scores reduced by the end of 2 weeks treatment, it was not statistically significant. One patient developed manic symptoms early in the treatment.Conclusions:Treatment with rTMS did not show improvement at the end of 2 weeks. More studies with larger sample size and with higher rTMS dosages need to be done.

Context:Puducherry has the highest suicide prevalence rate in India by 2014, predominantly among the 14–30 years age group.Aims:The aim of the present study is to study the characteristics of adolescent and youth suicide attempters in Puducherry and measure the suicide intent.Settings and Design:An observational study of 6 months duration was conducted in the Department of Psychiatry, at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, India.Materials and Methods:Modified version of World Health Organizations SUicide PREvention Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and Beck's suicide intent scale was used to measure the suicide intent scores. International Classification of Diseases-10 was used for diagnosis.Statistical Analysis:Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 13 was used for descriptive analysis and correlation statistics. P value was set as <0.05.Results:Of 56 eligible participants, 40 formed the sample, their mean age was 18. 13 (±2.50), more females (1.1:1), rural, literate, lower socioeconomic status (67.5%), mostly single (90%), living in nuclear (95%), and Hindu (87.5%). One hundred percent had psychosocial stressors before suicide attempt. Acute stress disorder/adjustment disorder was the most common diagnosis. Emotionally unstable and anankastic personality traits were seen in 12%. Pesticide ingestion (45%) was the most common suicide method. Sixty percent attempted suicide within <30 min of suicidal contemplation. Statistical associations were found between the alleged purpose, seriousness, attitude toward living/dying, conception about medical rescuability, and the overall suicide intent.Conclusions:Adolescent and youth suicide attempts occur due to psychosocial stressors rather than due to the past or on-going mental health disorders with above personality traits suggest poor coping skills and resilience taken to deal with stressful situations by younger people.