This scale is constructed to meet the need for an efficient, rapid and economical method of
measuring change in schizophrenic patients during the course of psychotropic medication (drug trial) in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual population of low educational level. Items are included only if (1) they can be elicited objectively, (2) they are important symptoms of schizophrenia and (3) they are frequent maniJestatz'on of the schizophrenic syndrome as recorded in Woodbridge Hospital. It could be used by a single rater but its reliability should be further improved if two raters are involved.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales*
Culture-bound syndromes have been described worldwide in many individuals and, for certain syndromes, in epidemic proportion, yet these disorders have been classified as rare and exotic conditions warranting minimal attention. Development of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the tenth edition of the International Classification of Diseases offers an opportunity for providing a more sophisticated classification of these phenomena. The authors examine amok, a syndrome first described in Malaysia that consists of homicidal frenzy preceded by a state of brooding and ending with somnolence and amnesia. They discuss the concept of and criteria for a culture-specific disorder and propose that amok be classified as a culture-specific explosive behavioral disorder in DSM-IV.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data*
The frequency of Schneider's first rank symptoms (FRS) was studied in 221 Malay patients with functional psychosis. The prevalence of FRS in schizophrenia was 26.7%. The most common symptoms were voice arguing, passivity phenomena and somatic passivity. In the absence of organic brain dysfunction, the specificity of FRS for schizophrenia was 87.8%, and their positive predictive value was 90.6%. These findings indicate that although FRS is not pathognomonic of schizophrenia, their presence should be regarded as strongly suggestive of schizophrenia in the absence of organic etiology. FRS do not however occur with sufficient frequency to have potential diagnostic in schizophrenia.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
First-degree relatives (FDRs) of 162 schizophrenic and 106 control probands were investigated [corrected]. Psychiatric morbidity was present in 34.8% of FDRs of schizophrenic probands and in 9.2% of FDRs of controls. There was significantly more psychiatric illness in the siblings and parents than in the offspring of both schizophrenic and control subjects. The morbidity risks for schizoid-schizotypal personality disorders, cannabis-use disorder and paranoid personality disorder were significantly higher in the FDRs of schizophrenic patients than in those of controls, suggesting a biological relationship.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
The correlation of clinical and demographic variables of thought disorder was studied in 45 Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) schizophrenics. Thought disorder was assessed by the scale for the assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC). Negative thought disorder was significantly correlated with the rural background. Individual TLC items like Distractible speech, Illogicality, Clanging, Neologisms, etc. were correlated with the literate group and perseveration with the illiterate group. No significant correlation was noted between thought disorder and clinical variables.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
This study was aimed at determining the effect of psychotherapy in patients in bereavement. Fifteen patients in a control group were given brief psychotherapy and 15 study group patients received psychotherapy with a religious perspective. The patients in the study group showed consistently significant improvements as compared with the control group at the end of 6 months. The results indicate that highly religious patients with grief and bereavement tend to improve faster when a religious psychotherapy is added to a cognitive-behaviour approach.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Asperger's Syndrome is a distinct variant of autism, with a prevalence rate of 10 to 26 per 10,000 of normal intelligence, and 0.4 per 10,000 in those with mild mental retardation. The syndrome now has its own clinical entity and diagnostic criteria. It is being officially listed in the ICD-10 under pervasive developmental disorder. Two such cases are described in this article. Case One lacked the ability to relate to others, was excessively preoccupied with the late actor P. Ramlee and demonstrated a peculiar behaviour of holding on to toothbrushes in his early childhood. Cognitively, he was unable to synthesise words into meaningful sentences. Similarly, Case Two was unable to relate well to others and was preoccupied with the planets and its constellations. Though he appeared intelligent with an IQ score of 101, he was unable to follow instructions at school. Both children had motor clumsiness and fulfilled the criteria for the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
A differential phenomenological study of acute and chronic schizophrenia is scanty. Thought disorder was assessed in 22 acute and 23 chronic schizophrenics. The scale for the assessment of thought, language and communication was used. Poverty of speech was significantly more frequent in acute schizophrenia. Positive formal thought disorder was unusually found to be severer in chronic schizophrenia. No other significant difference was found. From the perspective of thought disorder, acute and chronic forms of schizophrenia seem to be in a continuum with minimal difference.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
This article attempts to review the criteria for the amok phenomenon since the late 15th century and how its meaning has evolved into its present day usage.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Forty-five hospitalised patients with DSM-III-R diagnosis of mania, were found to have a mean red-cell folate level of 193 nmol/l, as compared to 896 nmol/l in the control group (P < 0.00001). Assessment of serum folate in both groups showed no significant differences in the levels. Furthermore the manic patients and the controls were matched by the socio-economic status. This indicated that the reduced red-cell folate in mania is associated with the illness and not due to reduced absorption or dietary deficiency of folate. Considering previous studies that showed reduced red-cell folate in depression, our findings suggest that reduced red-cell folate occurred in both phases of bipolar disorders.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
To show the effectiveness of incorporating religious-sociocultural components in the management of patients with generalised anxiety disorders and major depression who have strong religious and cultural backgrounds as compared with a normal psychotherapeutic approach.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and side effects of zuclopenthixol acetate compared with haloperidol in the management of the acutely disturbed schizophrenic patient. Suitable subjects diagnosed as having schizophreniform disorder or acute exacerbation of schizophrenia admitted to the psychiatric wards Hospital Kuala Lumpur were randomised to receive either zuclopenthixol acetate or haloperidol. They were rated blind for three consecutive days using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and UKU Side Effects Scale. Apart from repeat injections of the same medication, no other anti-psychotic was given for the duration of the study. 50 subjects entered the study of which 44 completed. 23 were given zuclopenthixol acetate and 21 haloperidol. Both groups significantly reduced BPRS and CGI scores on all 3 days compared to the initial rating (p < 0.001). There was however no difference between the zuclopenthixol acetate and haloperidol group scores on all days (p > 0.05). More subjects on haloperidol than zuclopenthixol required more than 1 injection during the study. Both groups had minimal side effects. Zuclopenthixol acetate was effective in the management of the acutely disturbed schizophrenic.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
OBJECTIVE:
To examine the extent to which clinicians from different cultures agree when rating the quality of a child's family environment and the effect of country, language, and training factors on these ratings.
METHOD:
Eighty-seven health professionals from Malaysia, Spain, Australia, Indonesia, the United States, Denmark, and Singapore rated 7 case vignettes using the Global Family Environment Scale. Half (54%) were psychiatrists. One quarter (26%) performed the ratings after attending a training session, the rest (n = 64, 74%) after reading a training manual.
RESULTS:
Overall, interrater agreement (intraclass r) was 0.84 (95% confidence interval: 0.68-0.96). There were no significant differences in agreement according to country, language, training, or professional group, although there were country differences in the ratings given to 2 vignettes. The majority of raters found the description of the anchor points (86%), training manual (95%), and case vignettes (97%) clear.
CONCLUSIONS:
Clinicians from different cultures seem to be able to make global ratings of the quality of the family environment that are reliable and consistent when using case vignettes. This can be achieved with little training. Global ratings of the quality of the family environment may be a useful tool in mental health research and clinical work.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Objective: To determine the prevalence of depression among the elderly and to identify its associated factors.
Methods: A cross sectional study design was used. Stratified proportionate cluster sampling method was used to select the respondents. A 30 item Geriatric Depression Scale questionnaire was used as a screening instrument.
Results: 7.6% of the elderly were found to have depression. Only employment status was found to be significantly associated with depression.
Discussion: The prevalence of depression in the elderly was 7.6%. Primary Care providers need to be vigilant when treating elderly patients as depression is commonly found in this age group .
Study site: Nine villages in Mukim Sepang, Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia
Device, Questionnaire & Scale: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30)
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of psychological stress among medical students and to identify its symptoms and association with depression. A cross-sectional study design was used. Three-hundred and ninety-six medical students at a university in Malaysia were included in the study. Tools similar to the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to screen for psychological stress and depression, respectively. 41.9% of the medical students were found to have psychological stress, which was significantly associated with depression (chi2=4.636, df=1, p<0.05). Psychological stress is common among medical students and is associated with depression.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
There is a general lack of valid tools to measure work stress of Malaysian. This study examines the validity and reliability of the Pressure Management Inventory (PMI). Reliability was evaluated using test retest method, and its correlation coefficient was calculated using Pearson's r. Internal consistencies were examined using Cronbach's Alpha. For precision, the Intraclass coefficients (ICC) were calculated for all the scales. Face Validity and Content Validity were assessed using an open-ended questionnaire on 6 content experts (psychiatrists in HKL). The results show good internal consistencies (alpha < or = 0.7) for most subscales, with the best results in the 'Pressure Scale'. The weak scales are 'Individual-Differences' scale and 'Social Support' scale. The test-retest correlation coefficients were significant at the level of p<0.001 for all, except one scale. The ICC coefficients were high (>0.7) for most scales, particularly for Pressure, Health and Coping Scales. The PMI is a suitable, reliable and valid tool to measure stress of Malaysians. More in-depth study with a wider sampling needs to be carried out to add confidence of its usage on Malaysians.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards*
Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti perkaitan antara tahap kemurungan, kesihatan mental, kesan sokongan sosial dan kesejahteraan psikologi di kalangan mangsa rogol dengan aspek demografik. Subjek kajian seramai 30 wanita telah dipilih dari Pusat Perlindungan dan Pemulihan Wanita, di Batu Caves, Selangor. Kaedah ujian yang digunakan terdiri daripada Beck Depression Inventory, General Health Questionnaire-28, Provision Social Relation dan soalan demografik. Soalan diedarkan di kalangan mangsa diikuti dengan penerangan ringkas ke atas kaedah ujian. Analisis data menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan di antara faktor umur dan kesejahteraan psikologi mangsa (p = 0.004). Selain itu, kemurungan didapati mempengaruhi secara signifikan ke atas kesihatan mental (R' = 0.60, [F (1, 27) = 40.312, p < 0.0011). Kajian inijuga mendapati hubungan yang positif antara kesihatan mental dan kemurungan (r = 0.77). Ini bermaksud semakin tinggi kemurungan yang dialami mangsa, semakin tinggi kesan ke atas kesihatan mentalnya.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Recent innovations in the treatment of schizophrenia reflect a growing trend towards community-based care. Malaysia had in the past few years attempted to deinstitutionalise mental patients in the mental hospitals. Therefore it is important to conduct research to compare the two groups of schizophrenia patients (community-based patients against chronic hospitalised patients) to ascertain if deinstitutionalisation has been beneficial. The main objective of the study was to compare levels of depression and function in community-based patients against chronic hospitalised patients as depression is prevalent among schizophrenia patients. This study was cross sectional in nature where data was collected from 51 inpatients in Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta (HBUK) and 23 community-based patients. Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) were the assessment tools used. Community-based patients were found to have significantly lower scores in the CDSS scale (1.96) as compared to chronic hospitalised patients (4.04); p < 0.01). They also showed higher functional capability between community-based and hospitalised patients respectively (74.04 vs 57.92) respectively. (p < 0.001). Community services appeared to be more effective than long stay in-patient services in preventing depression and promoting better functional levels.
Matched MeSH terms: Psychiatric Status Rating Scales