Risk factors for self-injurious behaviours among children with autistic disorders

The aim of this study was to assess the risk factors for self-injurious behaviours among children with autistic disorders. A descriptive exploratory design was utilized in this study. A sample of convenience of 50 autistic children were recruited from Out-patient Clinic in Institute for Postgraduate Childhood Studies-Center for Children with Special Needs [Autism Unit] in Ain-Shams University and Center for Social and Preventive Medicine [child psychiatry out-patient clinic] at Abu-EL-Rish University Hospital. Four tools were used to measure the current study variables, sociodemographic and medical data sheet, childhood autism rating scale, diagnostic self-injury behaviors scale and Vineland adaptive behavior scale. The results showed that, half of the studied sample had severe degree of autism, and severe degree of self-injury behaviors. Findings revealed that there is an association between severity of self-injury and higher degree of autism, higher communication delay, lower age and intelligent quotient. To conclude, SIBs represent a very common problem in children with autism. Further studies about SIBs on a larger number of autistic children from different geographical areas are recommended

Disease awareness and coping styles among schizophrenic out-patients

This study aimed to determine schizophrenia disease awareness as well as to assess and categorize the number and types of coping strategies among schizophrenic outpatients and examine the relation between the coping responses and the sociodemographic characteristics. A descriptive exploratory design was utilized in this study. A sample of 90 schizophrenic patients who were followed up in Outpatient Clinics were recruited. A sociodemographic/medical data sheet and psychiatric symptom questionnaires were used. During a semi- structured interview, the patient's description of strategies employed in order to cope with the various symptoms of his/her disorders and responses were monitored for each category. The findings of this study indicated that schizophrenic patients develop a variety of coping strategies to deal with different types of symptoms