Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-up in Moroccan Arabic dialect.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is increasing worldwide, making screening and early intervention necessary. Several screening instruments have been developed in recent years. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Revised with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F) is considered to be one of the specific measures designed to identify toddlers at risk for autistic spectrum disorder. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to translate and adapt the original version of M-CHAT-R/F from the English to the Moroccan Arabic language. STUDY DESIGN: Specialized translators and clinicians ensured forward and backward translation of the scale into Moroccan Arabic. Then, a two-stage screening of the M-CHAT-R/F-T was applied to a study sample comprised of 56 toddlers with autistic spectrum disorder (category I) and 96 toddlers with normal development (category II). "Kappa test", "Cronbach's alpha" test, the intra class correlation coefficient, and the area under the curve were determined. RESULT: The average score results of M-CHAT-R/F were 13.12 for category I, while it was 2.24 for category II. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the checklist was 0.929. The kappa values ranged from k=0.78 to k=0.97 with a confidence interval of 95% indicating good convergence. The intra-class correlation coefficient ranged from 0.97 to 0.99, which is excellent. The area under the curve in our study was 0.988, an excellent result. CONCLUSION: Efficiency of the Moroccan Arabic version of the MCHAT was demonstrated for screening in the general population.

Stigmatizing attitudes and social perception towards mental illness among Moroccan medical students.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore medical students' attitudes, social perception, and knowledge towards mental illness and identify the associated factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Medical Faculty of Fez. A representative sample of 420 Moroccan students from the first to the seventh years was selected randomly during the academic year (2018/2019). They completed the Mental Illness Clinicians Attitudes scale (MICA) and a self-questionnaire exploring sociodemographic data, the university course, social perception and knowledge towards mental illness, and the potential consideration of psychiatry as a career. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 21.73 years (SD ±2.60), and 72.4% (n=304) of respondents were female (M/F gender ratio=0.39). The participants held stigmatizing attitudes and negative social perceptions towards mental illness, as indicated by the high score of the MICA scale (mean=57.24; SD ±9.95). Females (p=0.02) and married students (p=0.02) showed significantly more tolerant attitudes. The attitudes of students (p=0.37) who completed the psychiatry clerkship were slightly more favorable (p=0.15). There was no significant difference in attitudes according to the level of study (p=0.06). Students with a lower socioeconomic level tended to be less stigmatizing (p=0.08). The assessment of knowledge about mental illness among students objectified major gaps. A total of 17.9% (n=75) considered psychiatry as a career. CONCLUSION: The attitudes of medical students in this study were stigmatizing, and this should without delay motivate Moroccan research, educational and health authorities to investigate further scientific research in this area to address these attitudes and remedies.

Clinical profile of schizophrenia comorbid with obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: Describe and compare the clinical profile of schizophrenic patients with and without obsessive-compulsive symptoms and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients. METHODS: A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study was carried out at the psychiatry department of Hassan II University Hospital in Fez over 12 months to compare three groups of patients: "schizo-obsessive" (n=32), "schizophrenia" (n=34), and "OCD" (n=46). All participants (n=112) were assessed using the mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI), the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS), the Brown assessment of beliefs scale (BABS), the Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A), the Beck's depression inventory (BDI-II), the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), and the clinical global impressions-severity scale (CGI-S). RESULTS: The "schizo-obsessive" group differed from the "schizophrenia" group in: more severe psychotic symptoms (mean=64.16±17.049, P<0.001), higher anxiety (mean=8.87±5,655, P<0.001) and depression (mean=7.50±5.989, P<0.001) scores, more prevalent suicide attempts (46.9%), higher illness severity score (mean=5.13±1.157, P=0.02), and more professional disinsertion (78.1%). The "schizo-obsessive" group (mean= 14.47±3.388) had significantly poor insight (P<0.001) compared to the "OCD" group (mean= 8.35±4.542). There were similarities in the obsessive and compulsive themes between the "schizo-obsessive" and the "OCD" groups, with no significant difference of severity (P=0.26). CONCLUSION: A careful assessment of obsessive symptomatology is essential in schizophrenia for better patient management and prognosis.