Objective To assess the knowledge and attitudes towards attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among primary school teachers in the Gampaha District. Methods A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted in randomly selected schools of Gampaha district using a stratified sampling method. The knowledge and attitudes on ADHD were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire distributed among all the consenting primary school teachers in the selected schools. Results Total of 202 completed questionnaires of 210 distributed were returned. The majority showed good understanding about ill effects of ADHD, teachers' role in management and counterproductive effects of punishment. Three-fourths had a positive attitude towards behavioural therapy. However, only a minority had adequate knowledge about the presentation of ADHD and its treatment with medication. More than 80% of teachers believed that the parents were to be blamed for the child's ADHD. The majority of participating teachers also believed that behavioural disturbances caused by ADHD children were deliberate and malicious. Teachers who had training in child psychology recorded a significantly higher knowledge and had a more favourable attitude. Conclusions The knowledge of ADHD and its treatment among primary school teachers needs to be improved. Particular focus should be on improving attitudes and disseminating the message that timely interventions can make a difference in the educational and social development of the child.

Sri Lanka's civil war and the tsunami in 2004 had enormous psychological impacts on the country's children. Tackling these issues has been difficult due to the lack of specialists in child and adolescent psychiatry. The end of the war in 2009 opened new avenues for the development of mental health services for children and youth in Sri Lanka. The year 2016 was historic in that the first board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrists assumed services in the country, after training in Australia.

Objective To determine the proportion of university stu dents that are psychologically distressed when compared to an age and sex matched population sample and to de scribe the factors that may contribute to their distress. Design A cross-sectional comparison study. Methods The general health questionnaire (GHQ 30), pre viously validated in Sinhala, was administered as a screen ing test to random samples of undergraduates in 5 univer sities. Age and sex matched controls from the respective communities were also administered the screening test. The undergraduates also filled in a pre-tested question naire with personal details. Chi-square tests were used to determine statistical significance between groups. Results Among the undergraduates, 104 (39.8%) had scores for psychological distress whereas only 67 (25.7%) from the community sample had scores for similar distress. This difference was significant (p=0.0007). A significantly greater proportion (p=0.009) of those entering from rural schools were psychologically distressed than those from subur ban and urban schools, and a greater proportion living in rented rooms and hostels were (p=0.001) distressed than those travelling from their homes. Conclusions The psychological distress among under graduates was significantly greater than among the general population. More students who enter from rural schools seem to be distressed than those who enter from suburban and urban schools.

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BackgroundDepression is an important public health issue in Sri Lanka, yet it is often missed or misdiagnosed, hence the development of valid and reliable diagnostic instruments for depression is of importance. AimsTo examine psychometric properties of the Sinhalese version of the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II), and to determine the cut off score for the diagnosis of depression. MethodThe linguistic equivalence of the scale was verified by a back-translation method. The final translation was administered to 956 randomly selected adults from the Ragama and Ja-Ela MOH areas. ResultsThe mean age of the study population was 31.3 years with a majority being female (56.2%). Participants were invited to complete the Sinhalese version of the BDI II. The participants were also independently assessed for depression. Of the participants, one hundred and eight (11.2%) were depressed. The scale showed a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's α 0.93). Exploratory factor analysis showed a twofactor structure (cognitive-affective and somatic), which was similar to the original model by Whisman et al. Criterion validity was satisfactory. Based on the receiver operating characteristics curve a cut-off score of 16 was determined to be the most appropriate cut off value for the detection of depression in this population group. ConclusionThe Sinhalese version of the BDI-II is a psychometrically robust tool that can be used to assess for depression in Sri Lanka.