One of the central purposes of cross-cultural psychiatry is to scrutinize the sociocultural influences on the phenomenology of psychiatric diseases. On the other hand it is possible to lay bare a nucleus of symptoms, common to all cultures, which, independently of all influences, occupies a central position for an understanding of the disease considered. In this study an attempt was made to approach this problem by means of investigating the contents of delusion of schizophrenic patients in Austria and Pakistan. The contents of delusion among 126 Austrian and 108 Pakistani patients diagnosed as having schizophrenia according to DSM-III-R (art. 295) were compared following the classification of Huber and Gross. Additionally the kind of persecution and the type of the persecutor were registered. However it appeared that only a few contents of delusion are frequent in both countries. In both countries persecution was the most frequently mentioned content of delusion. The comparison of the contents of delusion revealed significantly higher frequencies of delusions of grandeur, guilt and religious delusions in Austrian patients. Significant differences could also be found with the kind of persecution and the persecutor’s type. Cultural factors seem to have a decisive influence on shaping the contents of delusion.

No abstract

This study investigated dream narratives as reflections of the emotional and psychological states of earthquake survivors. Dreams and dreams imagery have reportedly been affected by the emotional and psychological trauma that the dreamer goes through. Dream narratives and dream content ratings used in earlier studies were utilized in this study. Narratives and content ratings were obtained from a sample of 27 volunteer survivors of the October 8, 2005 earthquake in Pakistan (Azad Kashmir area) and 27 volunteer controls from similar demographics. Three independent raters judged the dream narratives and dream content ratings. The judges rating were highly congruent (86.05). Findings revealed that the survivor group had more vivid, unpleasant, horrifying, and hostile dreams compared with the control group. However, there were no significant gender differences. The data suggest that a closer study of dreams can be used to understand the underlying trauma for effective interventions. In addition, interesting emergence of recurrent dreams was seen, which will be independently studied in future.

Background and Objective : Research evidence supports the relationship of psychological and demographic factors with hypertension and these variables are strongest predictors of hypertension which are scarcely studied in Pakistan. The present study was carried out to explore the correlation of depression, anxiety, stress and demographic factors with hypertension. Method: We used correlation research design and a sample of (N = 237), hypertensive patients (N = 137) and their age matched healthy controls (N = 100) was taken from hospitals. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) was used to assess depression, anxiety and stress. Results: Results indicated significant positive correlation between depression (χ2MH = 104.18, p < .001), anxiety (χ2MH = 78.48, p < .001), stress (χ2MH = 110.95, p < .001) and overall negative states (χ2MH = 97.43, p < .001) with hypertension. Depression (OR = 1.44, p < .01), anxiety (OR = 1. 76, p < .01) stress (OR = 1.37, p < .01), job and dependents, working hours and weight turned out as predictors of hypertension. Conclusion: Hypertension has significant positive relationship with depression, anxiety, stress and with demographic variables. The findings of the present study will contribute in the existing knowledge of health professionals to enhance public awareness regarding the harmful outcomes of depression, anxiety and stress upon human health.

Objective: Dealing with Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia symptoms is a major challenge for teachers and school psychologists while addressing students’ issues. The present study was designed to examine the prevalence and comorbidity of specific learning disabilities (SLD) symptoms such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia in public and private schools of Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in four schools of Lahore from June, 2019 to December 2019. We examined 666 participants (boys= 384, girls= 282) from two public (n=409) and two private (n=257) schools of Lahore with a mean age of 13 years (SD±1.44). Participants were assessed on Learning Disabilities Checklist (LDC) along with a demographic sheet. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and inferential analyses of Chi Square test of association and Cohen’s Kappa by using SPSS version 24. Results: Findings indicated that 39% participants showed SLD symptoms, 33% dyslexia, 48% dysgraphia and 45% dyscalculia symptoms. Significant co-morbidities were seen, such as 30% for dyslexia and dysgraphia symptoms, dyslexia and dyscalculia 26% and dysgraphia and dyscalculia as 36%. Variations in SLD, dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia symptoms were also seen across gender and schools with significant higher prevalence in public schools. Conclusion: High prevalence of SLD symptoms and comorbidity in students was found which is alarming, particularly in public sector schools in Pakistan. SLD and dyslexia were higher for boys, whereas girls scored high on dysgraphia and dyscalculia. Therefore, there is great need of introducing screening measure of assessment of SLD and management strategies to deal with these issues. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.7.2486 How to cite this:Ashraf F, Najam N. An epidemiological study of prevalence and comorbidity of non-clinical Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia symptoms in Public and Private Schools of Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2020;36(7):---------. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.7.2486 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

No abstract

In an urbanized setting in Pakistan, 14 nightmare sufferers (NS) were compared with 14 control dreamers (CD) on the standard scales of the MMPI (Urdu) as well as on selfreported ratings of dream content and sleep problems. These subjects were selected on a volunteer basis. Although the average MMPI profile of both groups was within the normal range (between T scores of 40 and 60), the nightmare sufferers obtained significantly higher scores on 7 of 10 clinical scales; the largest differences were on the psychasthenia, paranoia, and schizophrenia scales. Results are interpreted in light of the Pakistani cultural context.

OBJECTIVES: Neuropsychological deficits were compared between three groups, i.e. RD (n = 12), RD (ADHD) (n = 12), and control group (n = 24) on neuropsychological tasks assessing Visuoconstructional ability, Postural Stability, and Language Laterality. METHODS: Forty-eight children (age M = 12.5 years; 29 females, 19 males) were selected through purposive sampling procedure, from local primary schools. The participants were initially selected on the basis of Teachers Evaluation Checklist and then screened for RD and ADHD (combined type) using the Bangor Dyslexia Test and ADHD Clinical Parent Form, respectively. The groups were matched on nonverbal IQ (not less than on RSPM), Reading achievement estimate (≤90 on WRAT-3), age (11.5-15.3 years), and income. Visuoconstructional ability was assessed by scores on Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Task (RCFT), while Postural Stability was measured by scores on Postural Stability subtest of Dyslexia Screening Instrument. Language Laterality was analysed through Dichotic Listening Words Test (DLWT). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results indicated that the group with RD (ADHD) performed significantly poor on all these tasks as compared to NC and RD (pure) group. Although the results are restricted to limited sample size, findings of the study may help in isolating the specific neuropsychological deficits related to reading disability and comorbidity which can provide important clinical information regarding etiology of the RD-ADHD connection and future treatment.