Mental health literacy of autism spectrum disorders in the Japanese general population.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to clarify the public's mental health literacy of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). METHODS: Using a vignette of a young child, 500 Japanese participants were asked their perspectives, such as causes and appropriate coping strategies. For each response from those respondents who correctly identified the child as having autism, we tested the effects of sex and generation. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-nine respondents (45.8%) correctly identified the child as having autism. Significantly (P < 0.05) more females planned practical coping strategies such as contacting public agencies, whereas males had relatively more irrelevant perceptions, for example, significantly more males attributed ASD to social environment. Significantly more young respondents expected psychiatric treatments such as antipsychotic administration to be effective, and more seniors estimated low that the prevalence is approximately 0.01% or less. CONCLUSIONS: The mental health literacy of ASD among the Japanese public appears to be acceptable but there is still much room for improvement. Females showed more accurate knowledge, possibly reflecting gender roles. Some young people are not likely to know of the impact of psychiatric treatment, and seniors appear to be unaware of the current broadened recognition of ASD. Continued efforts to disseminate accurate information are required, particularly among males.

Symptom dimensions and needs of care among patients with schizophrenia in hospital and the community.

The purpose of the present paper was to examine the psychiatric symptom dimensions related to needs of care among patients with schizophrenia in hospital and in the community. Subjects were 217 patients with F2 ICD-10 diagnoses. Hospital patients included 102 inpatients (47.0%) in psychiatric long-term care units. Community patients included 115 outpatients (53.0%) living in their homes or residential facilities. Psychiatrists used the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to assess patients' psychiatric symptoms. Formal care providers assessed needs of care using a scale developed by the Committee on Case Management Guidelines for People with Mental Disabilities in Japan. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) self-performance and difficulty were also measured using a scale from the Minimum Data Set-Home Care (MDS-HC). Multiple regression analyses were applied, using the symptom dimensions as dependent variables and needs of care as independent variables. Patient group (hospital or community) was also used as an independent variable. Hospital patients demonstrated more severe psychiatric symptoms and greater needs of care than community patients. Multiple regression analyses showed that the total needs of care were greater among male patients (B = 0.142, P = 0.005), hospital patients (B = 0.310, P < 0.001), patients with poor IADL self-performance (B = 0.217, P = 0.047), and patients with severe negative symptoms (B = 0.240, P = 0.002; R(2) = 0.515). The present results suggested an association between negative symptoms and needs of care in schizophrenia. Hospital patients had greater needs of care, even though their psychiatric symptoms were controlled for. Further research should examine the relationships between psychiatric symptoms and needs of care in a cohort study following patients when hospitalized and when living in the community.