Socio-demographic, family, clinical and criminal profile of youth offenders at the child and adolescent out patient service of the national center for mental health for the year 2003

Objectives: The objective of this paper is to determine the individual, family, clinical and criminal characteristics of youth offenders seen a the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Outpatient Service (OPS) of the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) for year 2003. Method: This is a retrospective study of the young population who committed acts punishable by law and were referred to NCMH for psychiatric evaluation and management as ordered by the justice system of the Philippines. Data was gathered from hospital records and court reports submitted by psychiatric residents supervised by child and adolescent psychiatrists. The data included individual, family, clinical and criminal characteristics. For the individual and clinical, social, behavioral and educational characteristics were determined as well as psychiatric history and diagnosis using the DSM IV TR criteria. Family profile included a description of the family and for the criminal profile- what crime was committed. Results: The study showed that among the youth offenders the male exceeded the female in number (17:1). More than half of them came from major cities and had only primary education. It also revealed that half of them had a history of methamphetamine and inhalant use. The youngest and oldest offenders, were 11 and 18 years old respectively. Theft was the most common crime committed. It also revealed that the offenders had no previous psychiatric consultation prior to the commission of the crime. Seventeen (94.44%) out of eighteen were diagnosed with psychiatric disorders and the most common diagnosis was Mental Retardation. Conclusion: Several characteristics were found to be common and can provide a profile of the youth offenders referred for psychiatric evaluation and management. However, there is a need for further exploration to determine their impact on the youth offenders in order to create guidelines for therapeutic as well as preventive programs.

Occupational stress level and socio-demographic profiles of psychiatric residents at the national center for mental health

Objectives: This study determines the presence and level of occupational stress among medical residents training in the field of psychiatry at the National Center for Mental Health and their socio-demographic profiles. Methods: It is a descriptive study conducted in June 2003 among 18 psychiatric residents using the Occupational Stress Assessment as a tool to measure their individual stress levels in terms of factors in the work place such as empowerment, organizational irrationality, job complexity, work support environment and management exposure. Other factors outside the work place include home support, negative outcome and relaxation potential. Consequently, their socio-demographic characteristics were also determined. Results: A total of eighteen residents, eight males (44%) and ten females (56%) responded. It revealed that although stress is existent, factors like high work support and exposure management assisted the participants in coping. In addition, it revealed that residents scaled the same level in certain factors like empowerment, exposure management and relaxation potentials. In totality, although burnout syndrome was not evident at this point in time, most residents scored in the medium level in many scales indicative of possible opportunity for improvement. Conclusion: Despite stressors encountered during residency training in psychiatry, factors such as support at work place and at home, empowerment and relaxation potential lowered the level of stress among the trainees.