Williams syndrome (WMS), a rare disorder with a distinctive profile of medical, psychological, neurophysiological and neuroanatomical characteristics, results from hemizygous deletion of about 20 genes. The phenotype exhibits specific dissociations in higher cognitive functions: general cognitive deficits but spared linguistic abilities; extreme spatial cognitive deficits, but intact face processing. Of special interest is an unusual social phenotype in WMS: an overly friendly, engaging personality and excessive sociability with strangers. In this first experimental study of social behavior in WMS, we report that WMS subjects show an abnormal positive bias in their social judgments of unfamiliar individuals, consistent with their behavior in real life. Our findings contribute to an understanding of the neural and genetic bases of human social behavior.

BackgroundThe 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi was a major traumatic event affecting nearly all Rwandans. Significant psychological sequels continue to occur in the population 25 years after, with a high prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found in women. Three groups are typically designated with regard to the Genocide against the Tutsi: those who were targeted and categorized as genocide “survivors,” those who were in the country during the genocide and were the “non-targeted” group, and those who were outside of the country, referred to as the “1959 returnees.” Each group experienced various traumatic events during and in the aftermath of the genocide. Offspring of the designated groups, currently exhibit symptoms of PTSD disregarding of being born in the years following the genocide. A number of studies have described the prevalence of PTSD in the general adult population. There is a lack of research comparing the prevalence of PTSD in women and their offspring among these three target groups, therefore, this study aimed to bridge the gap.MethodsWe conducted a comparative cross-sectional study with a sample of 432 mothers and 432 children in three categories: genocide survivors, in country non-targeted and 1959 returnees. Participant ages for children were between 14 to 22 years and for mothers, between the ages of 32 to 87 years. The UCLA-PTSD DSM-5, PTSD Check list-5 and Life events Checklist-5 were translated from English to Kinyarwanda and were used to assess exposure to trauma and the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in Rwandan mothers and their offspring.ResultsKey Results yield a PTSD rate of 18.8, 6.2, 5.2% within survivors, in country non-targeted, and returnees respectively with an average PTSD rate of 43.8% for parents, and 16.5% for offspring.ConclusionPTSD among the mothers’ groups and their offspring have been found, specifically in the offspring of genocide survivors. Considering these adolescents were not born at the time of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the results suggest future studies should explore the precipitating factors contributing to the PTSD symptoms within this specific group.

Background In the past 26 years since the genocide against the Tutsi, mental illness continues to be the greatest challenges facing the Rwandan population. In the context of the 1994 genocide against Tutsi, there are three different survival status within Rwandan women. Those who were targeted by the genocide referred to as ‘survivors’, those who were in the country during the genocide but were not targeted referred to as ‘non-targeted’, and those who were outside the country referred to as ‘1959 returnees’. All these groups experienced the traumatic events differently. The literature shows that traumatic stress exposure is associated with depression. Objectives To demonstrate differences in trauma exposure in a sample of mothers and daughters according to their genocide survival status. To examine differences in depression prevalence between these three groups of mothers and daughters as a function of their genocide survival status and place of residence. To examine the relationship between major depression, survival status, place of residence, and trauma exposure in sample of mothers and daughters, including the relationship between mothers’ depression and daughters’ depression. Methods A sample of 309 dyads of mothers and daughters was recruited. Data were collected using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, Life Events Questionnaire and the Social Demographics Questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, logistic regression, and one-way ANOVA. Results There is a significant difference in trauma exposure in three survival categories of mothers and daughters. A 23% of mothers and 18.4% of daughters met criteria for major depression, with urban participants twice as likely to meet criteria as participants from rural areas. Depression was associated with trauma exposure and place of residence in mothers’ and daughters’ samples. Maternal depression was associated with depression in daughters. Conclusions Family support counselling services and research to identify factors of intergenerational depression are needed.

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Background The world is dealing with a significant socio-economic burden that must be addressed to secure a favourable future.To figure out this problem, there is an urgent need of healthy and well educated adult population to participate effectively in global economy.Indeed, childhood experiences may affect adult health outcome.Responsive caregiving during childhood is associated with good physical and mental health.On the other hand,a strong link was established between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and poor adult physical and mental health outcomes.This study assessed the prevalence of ACEs among adult patients with mental disorders admitted to the post-crisis wards at Caraes Ndera Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. Methodology : This research was developed as a descriptive cross-sectional study that involved a total of 122 patients aged 18 to 64 years.A convenience sampling was used to collect data using the the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). Data was analyzed in terms of frequencies and percentages using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 21.0). Results Initially, 159 participants were invited to join the study, 122 (77%) met the inclusion criteria and voluntarily consented to participate. Of the 122 participants, 43.4% were female, 61% were youth, 67.2% had primary school as the highest level of education and 29.5% did not work during the last 12 months. Having separated/divorced or deceased parents was the most frequent ACE item with 64.8% of participants responding affirmatively. Nearly all (98.4%) participants had at least one ACE and 77.9% had at least 4 ACEs. Conclusions This study on ACEs in Rwandan adults with mental disorders revealed that 98.4% had at least one ACE and almost 80% of the 122 participants had at least 4 ACEs.The findings indicate that there is a significant need to implement interventions necessary for the prevention of ACEs. Such interventions are necessary to mitigate negative effects of ACEs on child development, to increase children’s resiliency and to improve future adult physical and mental health outcomes.