Prevalence of childhood trauma in patients with psychiatric disorders and its association with perceived social support and suicide attempts: A cross-sectional observational study in a tertiary hospital in South India.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences include exposure of children to physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. Children exposed to severe maltreatment and trauma during their early childhood are at a higher risk of early onset of psychiatric disorders. Aim: To find the prevalence of childhood adverse experiences in psychiatric patients and its association with perceived social support and suicidal attempts. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in the psychiatry outpatient department at a tertiary care hospital in Kerala. Patients with a diagnosis of substance use disorders, psychotic disorders, mood disorders, and neurotic disorders according to ICD-10 (F10-F45) and in remission were included in the study. Institutional Ethical Committee approval and informed consent from the participants were obtained. Socio-demographic and clinical details were obtained. Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and Multidimensional scale of Perceived Social Support were administered. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were employed for data analysis. Results: Eighty-five per cent of the subjects had a history of at least one type of childhood trauma. Emotional abuse was the most commonly reported type of trauma. Among patients with childhood trauma, 47.2% reported high levels of perceived social support, whereas 18.5% individuals reported a history of at least one suicide attempt. Conclusions: A significant proportion of patients with psychiatric disorders in an Indian setting have experienced childhood trauma. Childhood trauma in psychiatric disorders is associated with a higher risk of attempting suicide.

A comparison of personality traits, learning style, and perceived stress among surgical and nonsurgical residents in a tertiary care hospital in India.

INTRODUCTION: It is often perceived that the presence of a distinct surgical personality plays an important role in predicting success in their surgical career. This study compares the personality profiles, perceived stress, and learning styles of surgical and nonsurgical residents. AIM: The aim of this study is to examine the differences in personality traits, learning style preferences, and perceived stress among surgical and nonsurgical residents. SETTING AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted comparing surgical and non-surgical residents in a tertiary care teaching hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The 50-item International Personality Item Pool Big- Five Factor Marker questionnaire was used to score 5 personality domains. The 24-item Learning Style Inventory Questionnaire was used to determine the preferential learning styles (visual, auditory, or tactile). The Perceived Stress Scale was administered to assess the perception of stress in the residents. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: t-test and chi-square test were done for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was found in learning style preferences with visual (14.78 ± 3.73 vs. 7.4 ± 2.25) and kinesthetic styles being (13.84 ± 4.37 vs. 6.96 ± 1.47) preferred by surgical residents whereas auditory style was preferred by nonsurgical residents (P < 0.05). Surgical residents scored higher in extraversion (P = 0.00), conscientiousness (P = 0.00), and openness to experience (P = 0.00) which was statistically significant. Nonsurgical residents were found to have a higher perception of stress which was statistically significant (13.40 ± 7.10 vs. 21.12 ± 7.52) (P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The significant trait variance supports the concept of surgical personality.