World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Mental health strategies implemented due to the coronavirus epidemic must include the assessment of mental health status of people in different subpopulations influenced by the COVID-19 outbreak, identifying persons who are at high risk of manifesting behavior disorders, suicide attempt, and aggression in aim of providing appropriate mental health care interventions for those in need. The target population of these mental health strategies is categorized in four different groups: the most vulnerable people with mental health problems, isolated people with symptoms of atypical acute respiratory infection, individuals who have been in close contact with the previous two categories, and people affected by the preventive and restrictive measures.

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Introduction/Objective The development of safer cosmetic medical procedures has lead to an increase in the number of minimally invasive esthetic procedures. The main aim of the current paper is to examine the connection of the number/location of esthetic procedures with the overall body image dissatisfaction, affective temperament traits, and the index of self-esteem in persons who have undergone several minimally invasive cosmetic procedures for esthetic reasons. The subsidiary aim is to compare the predominance of the above-mentioned traits in the sample with the results in the general population. Methods The study included 228 participants, aged from 21 to 73 years, who had multiple minimally invasive cosmetic procedures, purely for esthetic reasons. Data were collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire, medical documentation, the Body Image Assessment Scale-Body Dimensions, TEMPS-A temperament scale, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results Overall body image dissatisfaction was moderate in our patients (11.56 ± 11.877). With an increase of dissatisfaction, the number of procedures did not grow (r = 0.075, p = 0.263); however, the number of body parts on which the procedures had been performed did. The patients who had their body parts altered most were found to have deeper dissatisfaction with their overall body image (F(2,225) = 4.963, p = 0.008, η 2 = 0.04), and the most prominent temperament was wound to be hyperthymic (F(2,225) = 3.408, p = 0.035, η 2 = 0.03), similar to the Serbian general population. Conclusion Through establishing potential relations between physical, social, and psychological variables, like body image dissatisfaction, temperament, and self-esteem, we could provide a better insight into a mental state of individuals who frequently undergo minimally invasive cosmetic procedures.

Introduction/Objective. Previous studies suggest that number of suicides and suicide attempts will increase due the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frequency and characteristics of suicide attempts in the Republic of Serbia. Methods. The study observed two periods: the period from March to August 2020 (the COVID period) and the same period of the previous year (the non-COVID period). The observation during the mentioned periods encompassed patients who were examined at the Dr. Laza Lazarevic Clinic for Mental Disorders in Belgrade due to suicide attempts (1987 persons during COVID period and 2300 persons during non-COVID period). Results. Concerning suicide attempts, a statistically significant difference between the observed periods was registered in respect of total number of monthly clinical examinations, monthly distribution of suicide attempts, patients? gender and age, mode of suicide attempt and the diagnostic category. Binary logistic regression determined that statistically significant factors that can influence the suicide attempt were year, months, patients? gender and age, and diagnostic category. Conclusion. COVID-19 pandemic creates the increased exposure of the people to suicide risk factors, which points to the significance of consistent monitoring of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and thereafter.

SummaryIntroduction: The symptoms of depression which are clinically significant are present among 8 to 16% of older adult population. More than 20 years ago the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30) was developed. The 15-item GDS-15 is derived from the 30-item GDS and it is one of the most widely used instruments for screening for depression among older adults.Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate reliability, validity and the factor structure of the GDS-15 among Serbian elderly population.Method: Two hundred and forty nine subjects aged 65 and over participated in the study.Results: The GDS-15 scale was found to have high internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha=0.935, which means that the reliability of the scale is good. The coefficient of testretest reliability was 0.95. Principal Components Analysis produced 4 factors within the depressed group. The first factor accounted for 36.7% of the variance, the second, third, and fourth accounted for additional variability of 7.8, 7.0, and 6.7%, respectively, accounted for the explanation of 58.2% of the total variance. The score level 3 was found to be the best cut-off point for GDS-15 with sensitivity 87.6 and specificity 87.5. Ranging from 4 to 7, the cut-off scale was also well discriminative. Taking our results and data from the previous research into consideration, our suggestion for the optimal cut-off value is 4. Conclusion: We can conclude that our results are very similar to the research that has been conducted in other countries so far, and that the results satisfy all the criteria of successful validation. The Serbian version of the GDS will be helpful for screening and treating depressive disorders among this population.